Pandemic anxiety in US prompts action call

An influential group of medical experts has recommended for the first time that adults under the age of 65 in the United States get screened by doctors for anxiety, after the hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic prompted a spike in mental health strain among people in the US.

Anxiety rose not just in the US, but also across the world by 25 percent during the first year of the pandemic, the World Health Organization said.

By the end of last year, the WHO said "the situation had somewhat improved, but today too many people remain unable to get the care and support they need for both preexisting and newly developed mental health conditions".

The draft recommendations issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force on Sept 20 were made after research showed that anxiety disorders are increasing and often go unrecognized and under-detected in primary care, particularly among adults in middle age.

The guidance is only for people without recognized signs or symptoms of anxiety. But an estimated 19 percent of adults, or 1 in 5 people, had an anxiety disorder in the past year alone, according to the task force.

Lori Pbert, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and chair of the task force, told China Daily: "The reason for doing this screening is for healthcare professionals, primary care clinicians to be able to help identify anxiety early, so that people can then be moved on to having a diagnostic evaluation. And then if they indeed have a diagnosis of anxiety disorder, for them to be able to get the treatment and care that they need early."

While the recommendations are not mandatory, experts from the task force tend to have influence over the way doctors practice medicine in the US, as they are appointed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one of 12 agencies within the US Health and Human Services Department.

The proposed guidance from the task force comes as the long-term impact of stress from the pandemic is still being assessed by healthcare providers, doctors and mental health professionals.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that between August 2020 to February 2021, the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 36 to 42 percent.