Depression

This easy to use patient questionnaire is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders.^[1] The PHQ-9 is the depression module, which scores each of the nine DSM-IV criteria as "0" (not at all) to "3" (nearly every day). It has been validated for use in primary care.^[2]

It is not a screening tool for depression but it is used to monitor the severity of depression and response to treatment. However, it can be used to make a tentative diagnosis of depression in at-risk populations - eg, those with coronary heart disease or after stroke.^{[3, 4]}

When screening for depression the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) can be used first (it has a 97% sensitivity and a 67% specificity).^[5]If this is positive, the PHQ-9 can then be used, which has 61% sensitivity and 94% specificity in adults.

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?
Little interest or pleasure in doing things.....
Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.………
Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much...........
Feeling tired or having little energy......…
Poor appetite or overeating......
Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down……
Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television.……
Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite — being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving .around a lot more than usual............
Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way......
Total = /27

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?

Little interest or pleasure in doing things.....

Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.………

Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much...........

Feeling tired or having little energy......…

Poor appetite or overeating......

Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a
failure or have let yourself or your family down……

Trouble concentrating on things, such as
reading the newspaper or watching television.……

Moving or speaking so slowly that other people
could have noticed? Or the opposite — being so
fidgety or restless that you have been moving
.around a lot more than usual............

Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way......

Total = /27

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