U.S. authorities are considering proposals by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPTF) to screen all teenagers in America for mental health problems – in what some are saying is a push to increase the prescription of psychiatric drugs among the population. The USPTF recently updated their recommendations on the screening of children and teenagers for major depressive disorder (MDD) in an article in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. They demand that children aged 12 and older be routinely screen for MDD. Naturalnews.com reports: The USPSTF reviews scientific evidence about the benefits and harms of various preventive medical measures in people who have not been diagnosed with a particular illness. In this case, the task force reviewed evidence on screening children aged 7 and up for MDD. It did not find sufficient evidence to support screening children younger than 12, mostly because few studies have been conducted on this population. “Adequate evidence” showed that screening is effective at detecting MDD in children aged 12 and up, the task force said. However, no studies had been performed to show that screening leads to improved health outcomes in this demographic; instead, the recommendation was based on “adequate evidence” that treatment [...]