Married Seniors More Likely to Seek Preventive Care

The American Journal of Public Health is reporting that seniors who live with a spouse are more likely to obtain preventive health care screenings than are those who live either alone or with an adult child.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a shortage in preventive screenings on the part of the elderly; the current study breaks down, by living arrangement, those more likely to seek preventive medicine.

Just over 13,000 people over the age of 65 were surveyed, according to Dr. Denys Lau of Northwestern University. Of those, 52% lived with their spouses. Married seniors were more likely to obtain influenza vaccinations, colorectal screenings, routine checkups and routine dental care than the other subgroups.

After factoring in employment status and financial impediments, Dr. Lau told Reuters that the survey results didn’t offer any explanation as to why living with an adult child isn’t particularly advantageous when it comes to preventive health. He urges health care professionals not to assume that elderly patients are getting the screenings they need, even if they live with their children.

Statistically, the results of the survey may simply be reflecting the “marriage benefit” that has been reported since the 1970s: those who are married tend to live longer and have fewer health problems than those who live alone.

(By Rachel Stockton, and edited by Heather Kelley)