According to the New York Times (10/11, Pearson), on Oct. 11, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) “recommended for the first time that primary care” physicians “screen all children ages eight to 18 for anxiety, new guidance that highlights the ongoing mental health crisis among American youth.” Additionally, the USPSTF “reaffirmed its position that all adolescents ages 12 to 18 should be screened for depression.” By “making its recommendations, the task force hopes to reduce the number of children whose mental health conditions go undetected and untreated.”
Reuters (10/11, Steenhuysen) reports the task force’s recommendations “come at a time of rising rates of diagnosed mental health disorders among American young people.” It recommended “using screening questionnaires to identify children at risk, noting that studies show that children with such conditions benefit from treatment that may include cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy.” The USPSTF, however, “found insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening of asymptomatic children or adolescents for suicide risk.”
HealthDay (10/11) provides links to the evidence report for depression, the final recommendation statement for depression, the evidence report for anxiety, and the final recommendation statement for anxiety, all of which are published in JAMA.
NBC News (10/11, Edwards) also covers the story.
Related Links:
— “U.S. experts urge anxiety screening for children 8 and older “Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, October 11, 2022