Primary prevention in geriatric psychiatry.

Background: It is estimated that the number of older adults with mental illness will increase from 4 million in 1970 to 15 million by 2030. The cost of untreated mental illness in the United States is estimated to be >$100 billion annually and nearly half of that cost can be attributed to persons age ≥60. In this paper we present a comprehensive review of empiric data available on primary prevention for the most common psychiatric illnesses in this patient population.