Children Between The Ages Of Eight And Eighteen Should Be Screened For Anxiety Disorders, According To A New Recommendation From The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
In the United States alone, approximately 9.4% of children and adolescents between the ages of three and seventeen have an anxiety disorder, according to the CDC.
This amounts to about 5.8 million young people.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of anxiety among children has been rising over the past two decades. In 2003, just 5.4% of the youth population received a diagnosis; and by 2011, this rate jumped to 8.4%.
And new figures regarding the impact of COVID-19 on mental health are still surfacing– revealing that children and teens are suffering an anxiety epidemic even nearly three years post-pandemic onset.
This reality has forced the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to issue a new recommendation stating that all children and adolescents between the ages of eight and eighteen should undergo screening for anxiety disorders.
While this is a step in the right direction, though, the recommendation did not outline exactly how the screening should be carried out.
So, pediatric experts from the University of Cincinnati have actively researched the best approaches for screening children with anxiety disorders and connecting them with the care they need. Their study findings have since been published in JAMA.
Jeffrey Strawn, the study’s senior author, detailed how psychiatric disorders in children often go undiagnosed or untreated– even in the face of increased awareness and decreasing stigma surrounding mental health.
This means that appropriately screening for anxiety is crucial, and one of his first recommendations is to avoid using the age-old checklist of symptoms.
sewcream – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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“The issue is that when we rely on a checklist by itself, we really fail to capture the specificity that we need. So, we may be picking up other things that aren’t anxiety,” Strawn said.
Alternatively, the researchers believe that a more holistic approach is necessary. Pediatricians should launch open discussions surrounding mental health before the age of eight and pay special attention to familial history– the most significant risk factor for children.
“Because the pediatricians have a longitudinal relationship with these families, what we would argue for is starting those discussions around mental health early on to really open to door for having these discussions over time,” Strawn added.
Just identifying anxiety in children is not enough, though. Care providers must also direct youth to proper treatment avenues following diagnosis– an early intervention practice that could be “life-changing,” according to Christine Burrows, one of the study’s authors.
Additionally, even if some children undergo the screenings and are not found to have an anxiety disorder, the process can help familiarize the mental health conversation and empower families to seek help should their child ever develop anxiety.
This is not to say that research regarding the anxiety screening recommendation is over, though. On the contrary, there is still much more work to be done.
For example, different screening methods still need to be compared, and the benefits and limitations of anxiety disorder screening as a whole have yet to be nailed down.
Still, Strawn and his team are optimistic that the new USPSTF recommendation, paired with evidence-based strategies, will be instrumental in the fight against child and adolescent anxiety.
The study also pointed toward a few specific treatment approaches rooted in science. For example, directing children with anxiety disorders to collaborative psychiatrists and counselors who are present within their pediatrician’s office.
This will decrease the obstacles for families looking to obtain mental health care in a timely fashion.
Plus, the team believes that the new screening recommendation supports cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants as viable treatment options.
However, Strawn underscored how the best treatments are often those that are individualized,
“The hope is to identify the right patient for the right treatment at the right time.”
To read the study’s complete findings, visit the link here.
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