Screening for depression in primary care: latest evidence
- Stephanie Aboueid
- Apr 5, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 26, 2024
The WHO estimates that approximately 280 million people in the world have depression, a health condition that is more common among women than men. Depression can affect all aspects of life, including relationships. The first step to treat depression is to identify the condition in primary care through screening, which involves administering a symptom questionnaire to all patients not known or not suspected of having depression. However, findings from the UK, Canada, and other regions have demonstrated the inefficiencies of screening. For example, in the UK, almost 1000 patients had to be screened for each new depression diagnosis and almost 700 for each new antidepressant prescription. As such, there is little high-quality evidence available on the benefits of depression screening in improving mental health outcomes for patients. Rather than routinely screening all patients in primary care, it is recommended to engage with patients in discussions about their overall wellbeing, including mental health, and be alert to clinical cues that could suggest depression.
Identifying when depression screening should be conducted is important to avoid unnecessary care. Dr. Danielle Rice discusses findings from her work here.
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