Canadian doctors, psychiatrists don’t recommend routine adult anxiety screening – CTV
Sept. 23, 2022
Contrary to new recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, health-care professionals in Canada are warning against routine anxiety testing for adults.
The American health guidelines panel released a draft recommendation earlier this week that said U.S. primary care doctors should regularly screen all adults under 65 for anxiety using standardized questionnaires like the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) scale.
The panel argues that anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in the U.S. – occurring in 26.4 per cent of men and 40.4 per cent of women – but that they are often unrecognized in primary care settings, leading to years-long delays in treatment. Misdiagnosis rates are higher among Black and Hispanic/Latino patients compared with white patients, the draft recommendation notes.
