Preventive medicine: Hope versus hype
The aim of preventive medicine is to prevent the onset of disease or to halt and avert complications caused by the disease after its onset. Classically, we speak about primary prevention when we refer to interventions aimed at reducing exposure to disease-causing agents (e.g. smoking) or increasing resistance to disease (e.g. vaccination). Secondary prevention is the screening of patients for indolent diseases (e.g. mammography to detect breast cancer). Finally, tertiary prevention is aimed at reducing the harm from a symptomatic disease through treatment and rehabilitation.
There is a large incidence of indolent diseases (for example hypertension) in the elderly population that greatly predisposes them to increased morbidity and mortality if these diseases remain undiagnosed and hence untreated. In addition elderly people have a high incidence of symptomatic diseases whose harm can be reduced by adequate treatment and rehabilitation. Therefore preventive medicine has the potential to contribute to healthy ageing.
There is a large incidence of indolent diseases (for example hypertension) in the elderly population that greatly predisposes them to increased morbidity and mortality if these diseases remain undiagnosed and hence untreated. In addition elderly people have a high incidence of symptomatic diseases whose harm can be reduced by adequate treatment and rehabilitation. Therefore preventive medicine has the potential to contribute to healthy ageing.
