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Depression screening in adolescents

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Depression screening in adolescents

The Harvard Mental Health Letter is reporting that the US Preventive Services Task Force is recommending that 12-19 year olds get screened for depression.

BUT, they stress, ONLY if there are adequate systems in place for treatment and follow up care. Which I am sure is comforting for those who live in rural and remote, or extremely poor, areas where such services and systems are lacking.

According to the Harvard Mental Health Letter, major depression affects nearly 3% of children younger than 13, and 5.6% of those ages 13 to 18.

They also note that major depression is so disabling, with long-term consequences, and yet most youngsters who are depressed go undiagnosed and untreated. I am sure I am not alone amongst us all in knowing from personal experience how true that is.

It's also interesting to note that the US Task Force recommended NOT screening pre-teens for depression, on the very sound grounds that there is not enough research into how effective screening tools are, nor is there enough research into how effective therapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment programmes are and what longer-term side effects medicines in particular may generate.

Source: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. "Screening and Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Children and Adolescents: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement," Pediatrics(April 2009): Vol. 123, No. 4, pp. 1223-28.; cited in Depression screening in adolescents, Harvard Mental Health Letter, September 2009, p.7

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