Anxiety Screening

Abstract

Importance Anxiety is commonly seen in primary care and associated with substanti al burden. Objective To review the benefits and harms of screening and treatment for anxiet y and the accuracy of instruments to detect anxiety among primary care patients. Data Sources MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Cochrane library through September 7, 2022; refere nces of existing reviews; ongoing surveillance for relevant literature through November 25, 2022. Study Selection English-language original studies and systematic reviews of screening or treatment compared with control conditions and test accuracy studie s of a priori-selected screening instruments were included. Two invest igators independently reviewed abstracts and full-text articles for in clusion. Two investigators independently rated study quality. Data Extraction and Synthesis One investigator abstracted data; a second checked accuracy. Meta-anal ysis results were included from existing systematic reviews where avai lable; meta-analyses were conducted on original research when evidence was sufficient. Main Outcomes and Measures Anxiety and depression outcomes; global quality of life and functionin g; sensitivity and specificity of screening tools. Results Of the 59 publications included, 40 were original studies (N = 275 489 ) and 19 were systematic reviews (including ≈483 studies [N≈81 507]). Two screening studies found no benefit for screening for anxiety. Amon g test accuracy studies, only the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) G