Anxiety Screening Recommended for All Females Ages 13 and Up

Young women ages 13 and up should be screened for anxiety at routine visits, according to a new Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) recommendation.

In the 10 systematic reviews used to form the evidence base of this recommendation, there was sufficient evidence supporting the accuracy of screening tools and the efficacy of available anxiety treatments, including cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacologic therapies, reported Heidi Nelson, MD, MPH, and other colleagues at WPSI.

Led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the WPSI is a national program in partnership with the federal Health Resources and Services Administration and involvement from other medical groups. It develops recommendations on clinical issues that have not been addressed by groups like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

The USPSTF currently recommends screening all adults and adolescents ages 12-18 for depression, but similar recommendations do not exist for anxiety.

Although anxiety is also diagnosed in about 20% of men, the WPSI determined that women have unique needs because they experience anxiety triggers such as sexual harassment or eating disorders at higher rates, Nelson said.

“Use of the most brief and universal, yet effective, instruments could facilitate integration of anxiety screening into routine clinical practice,” Nelson and co-authors wrote.

Excerpted from “Anxiety Screening Recommended for All Women” in MedPage Today. Read the full article.

Source: MedPage Today | Anxiety Screening Recommended for All Women, https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/anxietystress/86950 | © 2020 MedPage Today, LLC

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