All adults ages 19-65 should be screened regularly for depression and anxiety, even if they show no symptoms, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends. On Tuesday, the task force announced screenings should include pregnant and postpartum women.
This is the first time the task force has advocated for routine screenings, even though it has recommended testing for depression since 2002, NBC News reported.
“Major depressive disorder (MDD), a common mental disorder in the US, may have substantial impact on the lives of affected individuals,” the group wrote in its paper, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “If left untreated, MDD can interfere with daily functioning and can also be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, exacerbation of comorbid conditions, or increased mortality.”
Dr. Wanda Nicholson, vice chair of the task force and a professor of prevention and community health at the George Washington Milken Institute of Public Health in Washington, told NBC, “This is a call to action.”
Nicholson said the task force singled out pregnant and postpartum women because, “in many ways, they are a different population.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, mental health issues have increased for pregnant women and new mothers.
The task force is composed of independent health experts who volunteer to analyze data and make recommendations based on that data.
The benefit of the screenings, according to the task force, is so those who screen positive can get a proper diagnosis and the care they need.
The screenings themselves are not diagnostic tools, Dr. Gary Maslow, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University, told NBC News.
“When you screen someone you say, ‘OK, you have some of the symptoms that are consistent with anxiety. Let’s talk about that more in detail and see if you meet the criteria for this condition,’” he said.
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