Treating children for anxiety ‘would cut risk of mental illness’.
Children should be screened for anxiety disorders to prevent them developing severe mental problems in later life. Treating anxiety early would be the single most effective way of reducing the burden of mental disorders – one of the most common causes of disability in the developed world, according to Professor Hans Ulrich Witten, lead author of study of the state of Europe’s mental health.
It is estimated that 38.2 per cent – 165 million people – of people in Europe suffers from a mental disorder and that anxiety is the commonest. All age groups are affected but some conditions, such as eating disorders, are more prevalent among the young and others, such as dementia, commoner in the elderly. The findings of the three-year study, which covered 30 countries and more than 500 million people have been published in the journal European Psychopharmacology.
The incidence of depression has doubled since the 1970s and the average age at onset has fallen from the mid-twenties to the late teens as adolescents lost their sense of security in a changing world, Professor Witten said.
Anxiety disorders affect 14 per cent of the population and effective treatment at an early stage can reduce the later development of depression by 60 per cent. Professor Witten said: “We screen for dental caries [decay] – why not for anxiety, … because the potential treatments are so effective?”
Women aged 25–40 ran three to four times the risk of men in the same age group of suffering from depression, he added. “There are incredibly high rates of depression when women have babies, raise children and have to cope with work and family. It is the most critical time for the rest of the family.”
Anxiety disorders could also be a warning sign of neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Parkinson’s disease. Professor Witten said: “Treatments such as cognitive behaviour therapy are so effective. You can treat an individual for anxiety with 10 or 20 sessions and get a sustained long-term response, reducing the risk of later depression. Depression leads to brain atrophy.”
Professor David Nutt, head of the department of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College, London, said: “If you can get in early you may be able to change the course of the illness so people don’t progress on to disability.”
However, Professor Thomas Insel, director of the US National Institute for Mental Health cast doubt on screening for anxiety. He said: “To get a risk calculator for anxiety we need biomarkers – and we don’t have them yet.”
They would, however, become available over the next decade, he added.
The age of anxiety
69 million suffer anxiety disorders
30.3 million with clinical depression
29.1 million suffer insomnia
20.4 million show stress symptoms
The 2011 project covers 30 European countries (514 million inhabitants)
Phoenix is the editor of this site and was diagnosed with bipolar twenty years ago. In between 8 periods of illness and hospitalisation she trained as a garden designer and was a awarded an RHS Diploma, gained a first class degree in Cultural Studies and a Certificate in Education that enables her to lecture in Recovery in Mental Health to psychiatric nurse students and mental health professionals at universities.
Phoenix leads a diverse life which she attributes to Wellness Recovery Action Planning and all aspects of Recovery. In the last 2 years she performed stand up comedy. Laughter truly is the best medicine! Now she is concentrating on being involved in improving conditions for inpatients and service receivers trustwide. And training in WRAP, Recovery Star and the new Advanced Statement and some gardening for health. Also with some great new art projects. 
