Pediatricians recommend all adolescents be screened for suicide risk

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is advising depression and suicide risk screenings for all adolescents age 12 and older, according to their updated schedule for preventative care released online this week.

The screening for suicide risk was added to the existing depression screening recommendation consistent with the AAP’s Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care, which were released in 2018.

In the 2018 guidelines, the AAP recommended yearly depression screening for anyone between the ages of 12 and 21, citing reports that about 50% of adolescents with depression are diagnosed before reaching adulthood and as many as two in three depressed teens don’t get any help or care.

The AAP health screening recommended by the AAP urges health providers to assess risk with a set of questions.

“Often it’s nine different questions that are asking about depressive symptoms and very frequently at the end of that set of questions, a kid is asked about suicide ideation or thoughts of self-harm, thoughts that they rather may be dead or alive, thoughts that they may be struggling a little bit,” said Dr. Nathan Copeland Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Duke Health, according to CBS 17. – READ MORE