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Key TakeawaysThe US Preventive Services Task Force has suggested that young people over the age of seven should receive routine anxiety screenings.It follows recommendations that adults under 65 should also receive routine screenings.Treating anxiety in children may lead to fewer mental health conditions appearing later on.Anxiety has been on the rise in children and adolescents in recent years, in part due to the pandemic.
Key Takeaways
The US Preventive Services Task Force has suggested that young people over the age of seven should receive routine anxiety screenings.It follows recommendations that adults under 65 should also receive routine screenings.Treating anxiety in children may lead to fewer mental health conditions appearing later on.Anxiety has been on the rise in children and adolescents in recent years, in part due to the pandemic.
Back in September 2022 the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) drafted a statement recommending adults under 65 be screened routinely for anxiety,and in October published a similar recommendation for kids.
This guidance comes after the USPSTF commissioned a review looking at the screening of young people for anxiety disorders to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks, particularly in young people who don’t show any recognized signs or symptoms of the condition.
Based on the study’s findings, the USPSTF now recommends routine screenings for anxiety in children over eight years old, but the current evidence isn’t sufficient in assessing the benefits and drawbacks of routinely assessing children aged seven and under for anxiety.
The USPSTF’s advice is indicative of just how real the US mental health crisis is, and holds promise for the much needed expansion of care.
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Screening Young People
More research may be needed to find out how often routine screening should take place. However, repeated screenings might be best for children and adolescents with risk factors for anxiety, with opportunistic screenings better for children and adolescents who have less frequent healthcare visits.
Daniela Mercado Beivide, PhDRegular mental health screenings will also help to normalize mental health and reduce the stigma around taking proactive actions to look after it…
Daniela Mercado Beivide, PhD
Regular mental health screenings will also help to normalize mental health and reduce the stigma around taking proactive actions to look after it…
Among the reasons for screening young people is that doing so can help reduce the future burden. People who develop anxiety disorders in childhood are more likely to develop a further anxiety disorder, or depression, so addressing anxiety earlier can help in the longer term.
These screenings aren’t meant to diagnose young people with anxiety, as such, but to identify those who might need more support. At present, there are a number of standardized questionnaires that clinicians can use to screen children and young people for mental health conditions like anxiety. They include theScreen for Child Anxiety Related Disordersand thePHQ-9questionnaire.
“Just like taking your car for a service to monitor safety and prevent a breakdown in the future, routine anxiety screenings would help identify early mental health warning signs,” explainsDaniela Mercado Beivide, PhD, fromHolly Health. “Based on screening results, primary care physicians can identify symptoms and then signpost them to an appropriate mental health professional.”
“As we know, a lot of emotional difficulties begin to emerge in childhood and so routine screenings for anxiety sound like a positive development,” saysElena Touroni, PhD, a consultant psychologist and founder ofThe Chelsea Psychology Clinic. “The only caveat is that there are obviously different developmental stages. For this reason, it’s important to use a measure that has reached clinical thresholds and doesn’t pathologize children.”
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The Rise of Anxiety
This study comes after the USPSTF also recommended that adults aged under 65 get screened for anxiety. Their recommendations are designed to help clinicians identify early signs of anxiety during routine care with questionnaires and other screening tools. This is in part because anxiety disorders often go undetected.
There may be a number of reasons for the increases in anxiety. There had been an increase in the number of young people whose parents had quit, declined, or changed jobs, as well as an increase in the number of young people who had experienced racial or ethnic discrimination. And of course, from 2020, the pandemic would have been a factor.
“According to theWorld Health Organisation, the pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide,” explains Dr. Mercado Beivide. “A major trigger was the unprecedented increase in social isolation, coupled with the fear of infection and financial worries.”
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Changing How We Manage Anxiety
Whilethe stigmaaround mental health conditions like anxiety hasn’t gone away, people are more open about their mental health than they perhaps used to be. As we’re more comfortable talking about things like anxiety than before, we might in turn start to become more proactive in addressing them.
In turn, “regular mental health screenings will also help to normalize mental health and reduce the stigma around taking proactive actions to look after it—the same way we do for physical health,” says Dr. Mercado Beivide.
More research should be carried out to determine, among other things, the ideal frequency of screenings and whether there would be any benefit to screening children under the age of eight, but with anxiety on the rise screening children and adolescents—and indeed adults—does seem as if it would be a good idea.
At the same time, however, we should look at the causes of anxiety. What can be done to make the lives of children and young people better?
What This Means For YouAnxiety looks as if it’s on the rise in children and adolescents, and there are various contributing factors to this. For this reason and more besides, routine screenings may be a good idea, and allow professionals to help young people before their anxiety becomes a larger issue.If you’re concerned about yourself or your child, consult your physician.
What This Means For You
Anxiety looks as if it’s on the rise in children and adolescents, and there are various contributing factors to this. For this reason and more besides, routine screenings may be a good idea, and allow professionals to help young people before their anxiety becomes a larger issue.If you’re concerned about yourself or your child, consult your physician.
Anxiety looks as if it’s on the rise in children and adolescents, and there are various contributing factors to this. For this reason and more besides, routine screenings may be a good idea, and allow professionals to help young people before their anxiety becomes a larger issue.
If you’re concerned about yourself or your child, consult your physician.
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4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.US Preventive Services Task Force.Draft recommendation statement: Screening for anxiety in adults.US Preventive Services Task Force.Screening for anxiety in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2022;328(14):1438-1444. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.16936Patel DR, Feucht C, Brown K, Ramsay J.Pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A review for practitioners.Transl Pediatr. 2018;7(1):23-55. doi:10.21037/tp.2017.08.05Lebrun-Harris LA, Ghandour RM, Kogan MD, Warren MD.Five-year trends in US children’s health and well-being, 2016-2020.JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(7):e220056. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0056
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.US Preventive Services Task Force.Draft recommendation statement: Screening for anxiety in adults.US Preventive Services Task Force.Screening for anxiety in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2022;328(14):1438-1444. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.16936Patel DR, Feucht C, Brown K, Ramsay J.Pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A review for practitioners.Transl Pediatr. 2018;7(1):23-55. doi:10.21037/tp.2017.08.05Lebrun-Harris LA, Ghandour RM, Kogan MD, Warren MD.Five-year trends in US children’s health and well-being, 2016-2020.JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(7):e220056. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0056
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
US Preventive Services Task Force.Draft recommendation statement: Screening for anxiety in adults.US Preventive Services Task Force.Screening for anxiety in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2022;328(14):1438-1444. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.16936Patel DR, Feucht C, Brown K, Ramsay J.Pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A review for practitioners.Transl Pediatr. 2018;7(1):23-55. doi:10.21037/tp.2017.08.05Lebrun-Harris LA, Ghandour RM, Kogan MD, Warren MD.Five-year trends in US children’s health and well-being, 2016-2020.JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(7):e220056. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0056
US Preventive Services Task Force.Draft recommendation statement: Screening for anxiety in adults.
US Preventive Services Task Force.Screening for anxiety in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2022;328(14):1438-1444. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.16936
Patel DR, Feucht C, Brown K, Ramsay J.Pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A review for practitioners.Transl Pediatr. 2018;7(1):23-55. doi:10.21037/tp.2017.08.05
Lebrun-Harris LA, Ghandour RM, Kogan MD, Warren MD.Five-year trends in US children’s health and well-being, 2016-2020.JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(7):e220056. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0056
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