Healio (7/17, Miller) reports, “Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders with onset in childhood,” researchers found in a report published in the June issue of Pediatric Annals. The report “is intended for primary care pediatricians to help them identify normal stresses vs. anxiety disorders, and help their patients move, through psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, toward wellness.”
In particular, author Sabrina Fernandez, MD, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California-San Francisco, focused on strategies to recognize, diagnose and treat “general anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder and panic disorder” among children.
Currently, “according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there is a ‘critical shortage’ of mental health professionals for those aged younger than 18 years.” That is why it is important for primary care professionals to “help identify normal stresses vs. anxiety disorders,” Dr. Fernandez said.
Related Links:
— “Strategies to diagnose, treat anxiety disorders for primary care pediatricians,” Fernandez S., Healio, July 17, 2017.