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Routine Screening For Depression Advised
An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from depression--and, because as many as half of all cases of this very common mental disorder are missed and still others are mistreated, a federal task force has recommended that all adults be screened for depression during their regular doctor visits.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force--an independent medical panel asked by the federal government to evaluate the latest research in deciding what routine medical screening Americans need--said the nation's primary care doctors could begin to identify as much as 90% of cases by asking basic questions about depression.
It’s being recommended that doctors should ask patients two questions:
1. "Over the past two weeks, have you felt down, depressed or hopeless?" and
2. "Over the past two weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?"
A yes answer to either question should be followed with in-depth questionnaires to determine whether the patient is depressed, the panel said.
The task force said it recommends screening adults for depression in clinical settings that allow for effective treatment and follow-up. Citing insufficient evidence about the reliability and accuracy of such tests in young people, they declined to make a recommendation for or against routine screening of children or adolescents for depression.
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