Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness. For this reason, the primary care setting is being seen more and more as a place to detect conditions that traditionally are not part of general practice. This enables early interventions with an indisputably positive cost‑benefit ratio in terms of health and money.

That is the opinion of the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF), which makes recommendations on the efficacy of specific preventative care services for patients without signs or symptoms of a condition, with the aim of improving health and eventually promoting early treatment.

With this goal in mind, the group recently recommended screening for anxiety disorders in primary care settings in adults ages 18 to 64, including pregnant and postpartum women, who do not have symptoms of this condition.

Anxiety disorders include:

Initial screening tests for the degree of anxiety or possibility of an anxiety disorder are simple: the patient answers a series of questions about how they feel emotionally and what worries them.

What happens if a patient screens positive? Further evaluation is necessary to determine the need for referral or treatment, says the group. Though most positive anxiety screening results will reflect anxiety stemming from a mental disorder that requires further psychological evaluation, some anxiety symptoms will be caused by a physical health condition, such as a thyroid condition, excessive caffeine, or stimulant intake.

Doctors screening for anxiety in the primary care setting should be prepared to rule out these possible causes of anxiety before referring to a mental health professional.

Overall lifetime prevalence is 31.1%, with women still showing higher rates than men in yearly prevalence, according to the US National Institute of mental Health. Past year prevalence of any anxiety disorder was higher for females (23.4%) than for males (14.3%).

Anxiety disorders generally start in childhood and early adulthood, and symptoms seem to decrease with age. Some community epidemiological studies indicate that rates of anxiety disorders are lower in adults ages 65 to 79, but these data need to be updated.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the prevalence of anxiety and depression is 32%, with substantial differences from country to country.

Treating anxiety requires taking into account both culture and ethnicity. In the Latino and Caribbean community, openly talking about emotions is not always common. For this reason, evidence‑based therapies—such as cognitive behavioral therapy (TBD)—can sometimes feel like a “foreign language” at first. The link between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors may not be immediately apparent, which makes it essential to include a strong educational component from the start.

It is also important to recognize that not all individuals have the same needs. Men and women may express anxiety differently and respond to treatment in distinct ways. In short, addressing anxiety is about understanding cultural barriers, recognizing gender differences, and ensuring that care is inclusive and culturally adapted.

The USPSTF acknowledges that clinical decisions involve more considerations than just evidence. And it believes that doctors should understand this evidence while also adapting their choices to each specific patient and situation.