Anxiety screenings recommended for adults under 65 years old

A task force is recommending adults under the age of 65 to be screened for anxiety

CNN— For the first time ever, a task force is recommending adults under the age of 65 to be screened for anxiety. That’s according to a group of independent disease prevention and medical experts whose recommendations help guide the decisions of doctors.

The task force says, screening for anxiety in adults younger than 65, including those who are pregnant and postpartum, can help identify anxiety early.

The panel says anxiety disorders are characterized by greater duration or intensity of a stress response over everyday events.

Brief screening tools have been developed for anxiety and are available for use in primary care. The majority of the current screening tools include questionnaires and scales.