Amid evidence that fewer than half of depressed adolescents get treatment for their emotional distress, a federal task force has recommended that physicians routinely screen children between 12 and 18 for depression and have systems in place either to diagnose, treat and monitor those who screen positive or to refer them to specialists who can.

The new recommendations, issued Monday by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, bring depression screening for adolescents in line with recently issued depression-screening recommendations that apply to adults.

Collectively, the new guidelines mean virtually all Americans older than 12 will be checked periodically for persistent signs of sadness or irritability; changes in sleep, energy and appetite; or feelings of guilt or worthlessness. Where depression appears present in a patient, physicians who care for him or her should be ready to recommend treatment.

In the case of older children who screen positive for depression, treatment is a more complicated matter than for most adults. For patients younger than 18, the Food and Drug Administration has approved as safe and effective just two antidepressant medications in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor family: fluoxetine and escitalopram (marketed respectively as Prozac and Lexapro).

Major depressive disorder is thought to affect about 8 percent of adolescents each year, and only 36 to 44 percent report they have gotten treatment.

— Los Angeles Times