BACKGROUND The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is the most commonly used measure to screen for depression in primary care but there is still lack of clarity about its accuracy and optimal scoring method. AIMS To determine via meta-analysis the diagnostic accuracy of the PHQ-9-linear, PHQ-9-algorithm and PHQ-2 questions to detect major depressive disorder (MDD) among adults. METHOD We sys...

In the United States, depression affects up to 9 percent of patients and accounts for more than $43 billion in medical care costs. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening in adolescents and adults in clinical practices that have systems in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up. It does not recommend for or against screening for depression in...

BACKGROUND Depression is under-diagnosed and under-treated in most areas of the US. New York City is currently looking to close gaps in identifying and treating depression through the adoption of a screening and collaborative care model deployed throughout the city. METHODS We examine the cost-effectiveness of universal two-stage screening with the 2- and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaires ...

AIMS The aim of this study was to explore what employees with severe medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) experience as causes of distress with regard to employees with mild or no MUPS. METHODS This study is an additional analysis of a cross-sectional study in which 486 sick-listed employees, were assessed with Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-15 for self-rated levels of MUPS. A c...

Adolescent depression, has been identified as one of the important risk factors for adolescent safety. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends screening the adolescent population for depression with a validated screening tool at least once a year. Given the time constraints in primary care, many physicians tend to rely more on clinical questioning to screen depression.This has the p...

BACKGROUND A number of self-administered questionnaires are available for assessing depression severity, including the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ-9). Because even briefer measures might be desirable for use in busy clinical settings or as part of comprehensive health questionnaires, we evaluated a 2-item version of the PHQ depression module, the PHQ-2. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND Depressive disorders are frequently under diagnosed in resource-limited settings because of lack of access to mental health care or the inability of healthcare providers to recognize them. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-2 and the PHQ-9 have been widely used for screening and diagnosis of depression in primary care settings; however, the validity of their use in rural, Spanish...

Objective The Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9) and PHQ-2 have not been validated in the general Korean population. This study aimed to validate identify optimal cutoff scores of PHQ-9 screening for major depression population.Methods We used data from 6,022 participants Epidemiological Catchment Area Study Psychiatric Disorders 2011. Major was diagnosed according Composite International D...