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All adults, including pregnant and postpartum women, should be screened for depression, according to new recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The recommendation also calls for screening to be coupled with “adequate systems” to ensure diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up (JAMA. 2016 Jan 26;315[4]:380-7).
The depression screening recommendation, authored by Dr. Albert L. Siu and the other members of the USPSTF, is a level B recommendation, meaning that it has either high certainty of moderate net benefit, or moderate certainty of moderate to substantial net benefit.
The new guidance in screening for depression helps address a disorder that is “the leading cause of disability among adults in high-income countries,” said Dr. Siu and his coauthors. Lost productivity attributable to depression cost $23 billion in the United States in 2011, and $22.8 billion was spent on treatments for depression in 2009, the last year for which figures are available.
Dr. Siu, chair of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and his coauthors cited “convincing evidence that screening improves the accurate identification of adult patients with depression in primary care settings, including pregnant and postpartum women.”
In addition, the task force found convincing evidence that for older adults as well as the general adult population, treatment of “depression identified through screening in primary care settings with antidepressants, psychotherapy, or both decreases clinical morbidity.”
For pregnant and postpartum women with depression, Dr. Siu and his coauthors found “adequate” evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) improves outcomes.
The recommendation does not identify optimal timing and intervals for depression screening, citing a need for more research in this area. However, “a pragmatic approach might include screening all adults who have not been screened previously and using clinical judgment in consideration of risk factors, comorbid conditions, and life events to determine if additional screening of high-risk patients is warranted,” explained Dr. Siu and his coauthors.
The new depression screening recommendation from USPSTF updates the 2009 recommendation, which recommended universal screening if “staff-assisted depression care supports” were in place, and targeted screening based on clinical judgment and patient preference if such support were unavailable.
The rationale for the current recommendation of universal screening for those 18 years and older is the “recognition that such support is now much more widely available and accepted as part of mental health care,” the task force members said.
Any potential harms of screening, said Dr. Siu and his coauthors, were minimal to nonexistent.
Overall, the USPSTF assigned a small to moderate risk to the use of medication in depression. However, the use of “second-generation” antidepressants – mostly SSRIs – was associated with some harms, including increased risk of suicidal behavior in young adults and of gastrointestinal bleeding in older adults, as well as potential fetal harms in pregnant women taking antidepressants.
Using CBT to treat depression in pregnant and postpartum women was also associated with minimal to no harm.
The USPSTF screening recommendation is aligned with the American Academy of Family Physicians’ recommendation to screen the general adult population for depression, and with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that pediatricians screen mothers for depression at their babies’ 1-, 2-, and 4-month office visits.
Released in draft form in July 2015, the depression screening recommendation was available for public comment for a period of 4 weeks. In response to public input, the final recommendation’s implementation section clarifies and characterizes an “adequate system” of screening, and gives more resources for evidence-based depression screening and treatment.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supports the operations of the USPSTF, but the task force’s recommendations are independent of the federal government. Dr. Siu and the other task force members reported no conflicts of interest.
On Twitter @karioakes
Arthritis affects one in five adults and is one of the most frequent reasons for ambulatory visits to the primary care physician. Arthritis affects patients both physically and psychologically and often leads to depressed mood with subsequent worse health outcomes, including increased mortality. Specifically, depression in patients with arthritis is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and suicide. Patients with arthritis and associated depression have increased health service utilization and are less likely to be adherent with their medications. In addition to these negative health consequences, depression may contribute to unemployment, loss of work productivity, and increased healthcare costs in persons with arthritis.
Depression screening guidelines for adults with chronic musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis have been endorsed by the U.K. National Institute of Clinical Excellence. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force and the Canadian Task Force for Preventive Health Care recommend depression screening in all adults. However, before screening for depression in specific patient groups can be recommended, well-established criteria should be met. Generally, screening is reasonable if the condition, depression in this case, is important and prevalent, can be effectively treated, and cannot be readily detected without screening. Comorbid depression in patients with arthritis meets these criteria. It is highly prevalent with rates ranging from 18%-42%. Depression with inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), occurs more frequently than with osteoarthritis but even though it is more prevalent, depression with RA is often unrecognized and/or untreated.
Performing depression screening should not unduly burden physicians because, on average, depression screening adds less than 3 minutes to a visit. Asking two simple questions about mood and anhedonia (“Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?” and “Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?”) is as effective as using more formal instruments. Implicit in the use of depression screening is the assumption that screening will increase recognition of depression and that recognized patients would benefit from treatment. It has been shown that patients who screen positive but were not in treatment had high rates of depression and overall poor mental health outcomes. Thus, provision of or referral to treatment is a necessary follow-up to screening.
It has been shown that there is no difference in depression screening rates in patients with arthritis, compared with the general population, despite patients with arthritis being considered “high risk.” Given the endorsement of national guidelines for depression screening, quality improvement initiatives should target physicians and non-physicians to increase the recognition of depression in high-risk groups and the use of appropriate interventions, such as mental health referrals and/or treatment with antidepressants.
Dr. Mary Margaretten is an associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco. She has no relevant disclosures.
Arthritis affects one in five adults and is one of the most frequent reasons for ambulatory visits to the primary care physician. Arthritis affects patients both physically and psychologically and often leads to depressed mood with subsequent worse health outcomes, including increased mortality. Specifically, depression in patients with arthritis is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and suicide. Patients with arthritis and associated depression have increased health service utilization and are less likely to be adherent with their medications. In addition to these negative health consequences, depression may contribute to unemployment, loss of work productivity, and increased healthcare costs in persons with arthritis.
Depression screening guidelines for adults with chronic musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis have been endorsed by the U.K. National Institute of Clinical Excellence. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force and the Canadian Task Force for Preventive Health Care recommend depression screening in all adults. However, before screening for depression in specific patient groups can be recommended, well-established criteria should be met. Generally, screening is reasonable if the condition, depression in this case, is important and prevalent, can be effectively treated, and cannot be readily detected without screening. Comorbid depression in patients with arthritis meets these criteria. It is highly prevalent with rates ranging from 18%-42%. Depression with inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), occurs more frequently than with osteoarthritis but even though it is more prevalent, depression with RA is often unrecognized and/or untreated.
Performing depression screening should not unduly burden physicians because, on average, depression screening adds less than 3 minutes to a visit. Asking two simple questions about mood and anhedonia (“Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?” and “Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?”) is as effective as using more formal instruments. Implicit in the use of depression screening is the assumption that screening will increase recognition of depression and that recognized patients would benefit from treatment. It has been shown that patients who screen positive but were not in treatment had high rates of depression and overall poor mental health outcomes. Thus, provision of or referral to treatment is a necessary follow-up to screening.
It has been shown that there is no difference in depression screening rates in patients with arthritis, compared with the general population, despite patients with arthritis being considered “high risk.” Given the endorsement of national guidelines for depression screening, quality improvement initiatives should target physicians and non-physicians to increase the recognition of depression in high-risk groups and the use of appropriate interventions, such as mental health referrals and/or treatment with antidepressants.
Dr. Mary Margaretten is an associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco. She has no relevant disclosures.
Arthritis affects one in five adults and is one of the most frequent reasons for ambulatory visits to the primary care physician. Arthritis affects patients both physically and psychologically and often leads to depressed mood with subsequent worse health outcomes, including increased mortality. Specifically, depression in patients with arthritis is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and suicide. Patients with arthritis and associated depression have increased health service utilization and are less likely to be adherent with their medications. In addition to these negative health consequences, depression may contribute to unemployment, loss of work productivity, and increased healthcare costs in persons with arthritis.
Depression screening guidelines for adults with chronic musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis have been endorsed by the U.K. National Institute of Clinical Excellence. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force and the Canadian Task Force for Preventive Health Care recommend depression screening in all adults. However, before screening for depression in specific patient groups can be recommended, well-established criteria should be met. Generally, screening is reasonable if the condition, depression in this case, is important and prevalent, can be effectively treated, and cannot be readily detected without screening. Comorbid depression in patients with arthritis meets these criteria. It is highly prevalent with rates ranging from 18%-42%. Depression with inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), occurs more frequently than with osteoarthritis but even though it is more prevalent, depression with RA is often unrecognized and/or untreated.
Performing depression screening should not unduly burden physicians because, on average, depression screening adds less than 3 minutes to a visit. Asking two simple questions about mood and anhedonia (“Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?” and “Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?”) is as effective as using more formal instruments. Implicit in the use of depression screening is the assumption that screening will increase recognition of depression and that recognized patients would benefit from treatment. It has been shown that patients who screen positive but were not in treatment had high rates of depression and overall poor mental health outcomes. Thus, provision of or referral to treatment is a necessary follow-up to screening.
It has been shown that there is no difference in depression screening rates in patients with arthritis, compared with the general population, despite patients with arthritis being considered “high risk.” Given the endorsement of national guidelines for depression screening, quality improvement initiatives should target physicians and non-physicians to increase the recognition of depression in high-risk groups and the use of appropriate interventions, such as mental health referrals and/or treatment with antidepressants.
Dr. Mary Margaretten is an associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco. She has no relevant disclosures.
All adults, including pregnant and postpartum women, should be screened for depression, according to new recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The recommendation also calls for screening to be coupled with “adequate systems” to ensure diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up (JAMA. 2016 Jan 26;315[4]:380-7).
The depression screening recommendation, authored by Dr. Albert L. Siu and the other members of the USPSTF, is a level B recommendation, meaning that it has either high certainty of moderate net benefit, or moderate certainty of moderate to substantial net benefit.
The new guidance in screening for depression helps address a disorder that is “the leading cause of disability among adults in high-income countries,” said Dr. Siu and his coauthors. Lost productivity attributable to depression cost $23 billion in the United States in 2011, and $22.8 billion was spent on treatments for depression in 2009, the last year for which figures are available.
Dr. Siu, chair of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and his coauthors cited “convincing evidence that screening improves the accurate identification of adult patients with depression in primary care settings, including pregnant and postpartum women.”
In addition, the task force found convincing evidence that for older adults as well as the general adult population, treatment of “depression identified through screening in primary care settings with antidepressants, psychotherapy, or both decreases clinical morbidity.”
For pregnant and postpartum women with depression, Dr. Siu and his coauthors found “adequate” evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) improves outcomes.
The recommendation does not identify optimal timing and intervals for depression screening, citing a need for more research in this area. However, “a pragmatic approach might include screening all adults who have not been screened previously and using clinical judgment in consideration of risk factors, comorbid conditions, and life events to determine if additional screening of high-risk patients is warranted,” explained Dr. Siu and his coauthors.
The new depression screening recommendation from USPSTF updates the 2009 recommendation, which recommended universal screening if “staff-assisted depression care supports” were in place, and targeted screening based on clinical judgment and patient preference if such support were unavailable.
The rationale for the current recommendation of universal screening for those 18 years and older is the “recognition that such support is now much more widely available and accepted as part of mental health care,” the task force members said.
Any potential harms of screening, said Dr. Siu and his coauthors, were minimal to nonexistent.
Overall, the USPSTF assigned a small to moderate risk to the use of medication in depression. However, the use of “second-generation” antidepressants – mostly SSRIs – was associated with some harms, including increased risk of suicidal behavior in young adults and of gastrointestinal bleeding in older adults, as well as potential fetal harms in pregnant women taking antidepressants.
Using CBT to treat depression in pregnant and postpartum women was also associated with minimal to no harm.
The USPSTF screening recommendation is aligned with the American Academy of Family Physicians’ recommendation to screen the general adult population for depression, and with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that pediatricians screen mothers for depression at their babies’ 1-, 2-, and 4-month office visits.
Released in draft form in July 2015, the depression screening recommendation was available for public comment for a period of 4 weeks. In response to public input, the final recommendation’s implementation section clarifies and characterizes an “adequate system” of screening, and gives more resources for evidence-based depression screening and treatment.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supports the operations of the USPSTF, but the task force’s recommendations are independent of the federal government. Dr. Siu and the other task force members reported no conflicts of interest.
On Twitter @karioakes
All adults, including pregnant and postpartum women, should be screened for depression, according to new recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The recommendation also calls for screening to be coupled with “adequate systems” to ensure diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up (JAMA. 2016 Jan 26;315[4]:380-7).
The depression screening recommendation, authored by Dr. Albert L. Siu and the other members of the USPSTF, is a level B recommendation, meaning that it has either high certainty of moderate net benefit, or moderate certainty of moderate to substantial net benefit.
The new guidance in screening for depression helps address a disorder that is “the leading cause of disability among adults in high-income countries,” said Dr. Siu and his coauthors. Lost productivity attributable to depression cost $23 billion in the United States in 2011, and $22.8 billion was spent on treatments for depression in 2009, the last year for which figures are available.
Dr. Siu, chair of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and his coauthors cited “convincing evidence that screening improves the accurate identification of adult patients with depression in primary care settings, including pregnant and postpartum women.”
In addition, the task force found convincing evidence that for older adults as well as the general adult population, treatment of “depression identified through screening in primary care settings with antidepressants, psychotherapy, or both decreases clinical morbidity.”
For pregnant and postpartum women with depression, Dr. Siu and his coauthors found “adequate” evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) improves outcomes.
The recommendation does not identify optimal timing and intervals for depression screening, citing a need for more research in this area. However, “a pragmatic approach might include screening all adults who have not been screened previously and using clinical judgment in consideration of risk factors, comorbid conditions, and life events to determine if additional screening of high-risk patients is warranted,” explained Dr. Siu and his coauthors.
The new depression screening recommendation from USPSTF updates the 2009 recommendation, which recommended universal screening if “staff-assisted depression care supports” were in place, and targeted screening based on clinical judgment and patient preference if such support were unavailable.
The rationale for the current recommendation of universal screening for those 18 years and older is the “recognition that such support is now much more widely available and accepted as part of mental health care,” the task force members said.
Any potential harms of screening, said Dr. Siu and his coauthors, were minimal to nonexistent.
Overall, the USPSTF assigned a small to moderate risk to the use of medication in depression. However, the use of “second-generation” antidepressants – mostly SSRIs – was associated with some harms, including increased risk of suicidal behavior in young adults and of gastrointestinal bleeding in older adults, as well as potential fetal harms in pregnant women taking antidepressants.
Using CBT to treat depression in pregnant and postpartum women was also associated with minimal to no harm.
The USPSTF screening recommendation is aligned with the American Academy of Family Physicians’ recommendation to screen the general adult population for depression, and with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that pediatricians screen mothers for depression at their babies’ 1-, 2-, and 4-month office visits.
Released in draft form in July 2015, the depression screening recommendation was available for public comment for a period of 4 weeks. In response to public input, the final recommendation’s implementation section clarifies and characterizes an “adequate system” of screening, and gives more resources for evidence-based depression screening and treatment.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supports the operations of the USPSTF, but the task force’s recommendations are independent of the federal government. Dr. Siu and the other task force members reported no conflicts of interest.
On Twitter @karioakes
FROM JAMA
