For the first time, the influential U.S. health agency has recommend that adults be regularly screened for anxiety, even when there are no symptoms.
A government-backed panel recommend that adults under 65 should be screen for anxiety disorders.
On Tuesday, the influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released draft guidelines recommending regular screening for anxiety and depression.
NBC News reports that this is the first time a group has recommended such screenings even in the absence of symptoms. Adults who should be screen include pregnant women and women in labour.
“When you go to your G.P., they check you for many, many preventable conditions – blood pressure. Heart rate, all sorts of things,” Laurie Pbert, a task force and clinical psychologist member, told the BBC. “Mental illness is just like important as any other physical illness. And we need to treat mental illness with the urgency as any other illness.”
The panel addressed one critical point based on a review that began before the COVID-19 pandemic. Point.
He continued, “This is a priority issue because of the importance of public health. But there has been an increasing focus on mental health in this country in recent years.”
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common adult mental health conditions in the country. Affecting about 40% of U.S. women and more than 1 in 4 men, Robert told NBC News. He also found that 1 in 10 pregnant and postpartum women experience anxiety.
According to experts, anxiety disorders can manifest themselves in various ways, including panic attacks, phobias, and feelings of restlessness.
Short questionnaires and other screening tools that are already in use can be used to make screenings work. “The best important thing to realize is that screening tests alone are not enough to diagnose anxiety,” Pbert told NBC News. Adding that the next step would be to seek a more in-depth evaluation by a psychologist.