Regular Depression Assessments for Adolescents

With more than two million U.S. teens affected by depression, an influential medical panel is urging physicians to routinely screen their teen patients for depression.

According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-appointed blue-ribbon group of medical experts that sets health guidelines for doctors on a wide range of health issues, most depressed teens struggle with their condition undiagnosed and untreated. The task force’s recommendations, which exceed teen depression screening guidelines suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics’, were published in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Critical Assessments for Depression in Teens

Evidence suggests that teen depression can be accurately diagnosed in primary-care settings with the aid of simple but detailed questionnaires. Because routine school/sports physicals, illness and injury send most teens to their primary-care doctor several times a year, the task force believes that increased screening by primary-care physicians has the greatest potential to dramatically increase the number of teens receiving help for depression. An estimated 6 percent of U.S. teens suffer from clinical depression that requires psychotherapy and, in some cases, medication.

While other medical groups have recommended screening high risk teens, the panel experts recommend screening all teens at least once a year. “You will miss a lot if you only screen high-risk groups,” Dr. Ned Calonge, task force chairman and chief medical officer for Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment told the Associated Press.

The teen years are a time of volatile emotions, individualization, separation from family, and boomeranging self-confidence that can quickly spiral down into depression. With families always on the go, teens’ natural emphasis on spending more time with their friends, and the normal teen desire for privacy, parents can often miss early signs of depression. Teens, too, can be adept at hiding depressive feelings and suicidal thoughts from their families and friends. However, simple questionnaires that focus on depression indicators — mood, anxiety, appetite, drinking, substance abuse — have proven remarkably accurate in helping physicians diagnose teen depression.

In light of highly publicized links between antidepressants and teen suicide, Calonge stressed that the panel is not promoting drug treatment alone. The panel specifically recommends routine depression only when psychotherapy is readily available to immediately help teen patients.