Phobias

US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening children 8 and older for anxiety

For the first time, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended universal screening for anxiety in children ages 8-18 in pediatric primary care settings:

• This applies to children without symptoms of anxiety, as well as those without a diagnosis of a mental health condition

• Specific recommendations on screening tests are absent from the evidence report; primary care settings are encouraged to develop their own protocols after considering the types of anxiety disorders their clinicians might typically encounter, and also taking into account feasibility of available screening tools

• The USPSTF could find no evidence on optimal screening intervals; they suggest that repeated screening may be most productive in adolescents with risk factors for anxiety

• Opportunistic screening may be a practical approach for adolescents, who often present infrequently to primary care

• For now, the USPSTF found that the evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for anxiety in children 7 years or younger.

The USPSTF is an independent panel of US experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine. Their recommendations are based on a review of the evidence on screening for anxiety, which concluded with moderate certainty that it has a moderate net benefit in children ages 8-18. The report states that in 2018-2019, an estimated 7.8% of US children and adolescents had a current anxiety disorder. An important rationale for early detection and treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents is that they are associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression in later life.

See Diagnosis: screening

Original source of update