Majority Say Anxiety Screening Would Improve the Emotional Wellness of Adults

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended mandatory anxiety screening for adults in the U.S. without symptoms. The Task Force has recommended doctors assess patients for depression but it’s the first time it recommended routine anxiety screening for adults who don’t have obvious related symptoms to improve overall health and well-being.

Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on mandatory anxiety screening for adults in the U.S. to seek public opinion about it.

Highlights:

• 32.1% are against the U.S. Task Force’s statement that pregnant and postpartum women should be screened for anxiety.
• 61.71% felt that children should definitely or probably be screened for anxiety.
• 41.80 % believed that anxiety screening for adults is a necessary step to bridge the gap in access to mental health care providers

Anxiety in the US

Occasional stress or in response to worrisome events is normal, but when stress interferes with daily life, it could lead to an anxiety disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders and they affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives. Anxiety disorders are some of the most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions in the U.S., affecting 42.5 million adults.

According to a study mentioned in Forbes, anxiety and depression impact the economy yearly by $1 trillion in lost productivity.

When we asked the public in our survey if they were aware of the mandatory anxiety screening for adults that the U.S. Task Force advised, 36.49% were well aware, 33.23% were vaguely aware, and 30.28% were unaware.

Read Also: Majority Feel In-person Therapy to be More Effective Compared to Remote Care

Is Early Detection Worth it?

A study recently revealed that routine anxiety screening for adults could help detect anxiety disorders earlier and help in treatment by reducing the time spent in distress for the patient.

72.62% believed that mandatory anxiety screening would definitely or probably improve the emotional wellness of adults, while 17.42% wouldn’t probably improve the emotional wellness of adults, and 7.67% were unsure.

Read Also: 42% Say Depression Is the Most Common Mental Health Disorder

Children Screening

Identifying and diagnosing mental health issues in the younger demographic is very important as research shows that early intervention can prevent significant mental health problems from developing. Moreover, 50% of mental health issues can occur in young people before the age of 14. While 61.71% think that children should definitely or probably be screened, 28.67% think that mental health screening isn’t probably or definitely for children, and 9.62% weren’t sure.

Connection Between Anxiety and Suicide Attempts

It has been reported that more than 70% of individuals who had a history of suicide attempts have an anxiety disorder. And 48.01% think that routine anxiety screening would help to save lives, while 22.12% don’t think it would help, and 29.87% weren’t sure.

Mixed Opinions About the Mandatory Anxiety Screening

34.11% support the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and think pregnant and postpartum women should be screened for anxiety. 32.10% are against it while 33.79% are neutral.

31.95% believe that the methodology of routine screening will definitely help, which is having a person answer a medically reported symptoms questionnaire.  43.18% think that it will probably help, 16.21% think that it probably or definitely won’t help, and 8.66% aren’t sure.

By anxiety screening for adults, the U.S. Task Force is trying to bridge the gap in the healthcare system in terms of access to mental health providers for adults, who are showing signs of emotional stress in increasing numbers. We asked in the survey about people’s opinion on that statement and 41.8% agreed and believed that it is a necessary step to bridge the gap. 35.54% were unsure, and 22.66% believed that it was not a necessary step.