Role of dried blood spots in health and disease diagnosis in older adults

Older adults represent a substantial number of the world population, which is set to grow considerably in the coming years. The health challenges faced by the older adults are unique. Several age-related changes in them make phlebotomy difficult. Application of dried blood has been demonstrated to be useful in the other similarly vulnerable population, the neonates. Similar approach of standardization and demonstration of use of dried blood spots (DBS) for analytes of interest in older adult population would be highly appreciated. There are very few reports of use of DBS in older adults. There are several potential areas of interest for older adults in which DBS assays are available but have not been applied for screening in them. This review describes a brief general overview of DBS, its advantages and disadvantages and potential use in disease diagnosis in older adults.