Screening for depression and anxiety is recommended in the United States for all adults

The signal coming from the US Preventive Services Task Force — an independent group that, in the US, makes recommendations on prevention strategies and early diagnosis — is to call on all adults age 18 or older to undergo Depression screening test And one for anxiety, even if you do not provide clear conditions for the risk. “In 2019, approximately 7.8% of adults in the United States experienced at least one major depressive episode and 5.3% had a major depressive episode with major impairment in the past year,” the task force wrote. Add to that the fact that “in 2019 in the United States, 47,511 deaths were attributed to suicide, and suicide rates are on the rise.” to give an echo Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the group, there is no data currently available to determine the correct triage periodicity: an approachpragmatic It can include adults who have not been previously screened and use clinical judgment, taking into account risk factors, comorbidities, and life events, to determine whether additional screening is warranted.” On the other hand, generalized screening for suicide risk assessment is rejected. The same indications apply to Anxiety check.However, this is not recommended for the elderly, for whom there is no evidence of effectiveness.

Already in 2009, the American expert group made a preliminary recommendation recommending implementation Examination under certain conditions; The 2016 update has expanded the range of potential recipients. With the latest version, screening is recommended for all populations,” including Pregnant women, postpartum women and the elderly”, underline the experts. In fact, almost 1 in 5 women suffer from it Depression or anxiety during pregnancy Or, more often, in the year following the birth and about 20% of these come to have suicidal thoughts or to commit acts of self-harm. Ignoring mental health not only jeopardizes women’s general health and well-being, but also has a Impact on the physical and emotional development of children. To say it is the World Health Organization (WHO), which, for this specific audience, has launched new guidelines for integrating perinatal mental health into maternal and child health services. The guidelines provide an evidence-based approach to planning for integrating screening, diagnosis and management of mental health conditions into maternal and child health services, to identify and treat symptoms of distress as early as possible suitable answers. This requires, among other things, adequately trained personnel.