By the year 2050, 21% of the world's population will be at least 60 years of age. As we get older, primary prevention and early detection are important components of health care maintenance. In the July 15, 2008 issue of American Family Physician, doctors from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso in Texas published recommendations for the types of geriatric screening and prevention which should be performed by primary care providers.

Many causes of death in older adults may be preventable through modification of certain lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet. As such, some of the recommendations for caring for older patients include screening for tobacco use, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer, as these are leading causes of mortality. People with high blood pressure or high cholesterol should be screened for diabetes. All patients who are at increased for coronary heart disease should be educated on the potential benefits of aspirin therapy. Women aged 65 years and older should be screened for osteoporosis, and all men aged 65 to 75 should undergo 1-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm, an abnormal bulging of the aorta.

While these recommendations are useful as a general rule of thumb, the appropriate screening tests will vary by individual, so talk to your physician about the potential benefits and harms of screening to find out which preventive health measures are applicable to you.