Journal article
Screening for depression in primary care with Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9): A systematic review.
- Costantini L Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy. Electronic address: luigi.costantini1@studenti.unipr.it.
- Pasquarella C Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
- Odone A Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
- Colucci ME Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
- Costanza A Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva (UNIGE), Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, ASO Santi Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo Hospital, Alessandria, Italy.
- Serafini G Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
- Aguglia A Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
- Belvederi Murri M Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
- Brakoulias V School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Blacktown Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- Amore M Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
- Ghaemi SN Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Amerio A Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy; Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
- 2020-10-30
Published in:
- Journal of affective disorders. - 2020
English
BACKGROUND
Depression is a leading cause of disability. International guidelines recommend screening for depression and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) has been identified as the most reliable screening tool. We reviewed the evidence for using it within the primary care setting.
METHODS
We retrieved studies from MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library that carried out primary care-based depression screening using PHQ-9 in populations older than 12, from 1995 to 2018.
RESULTS
Forty-two studies were included in the systematic review. Most of the studies were cross-sectional (N=40, 95%), conducted in high-income countries (N=27, 71%) and recruited adult populations (N=38, 90%). The accuracy of the PHQ-9 was evaluated in 31 (74%) studies with a two-stage screening system, with structured interview most often carried out by primary care and mental health professionals. Most of the studies employed a cut-off score of 10 (N=24, 57%, total range 5 - 15). The overall sensitivity of PHQ-9 ranged from 0.37 to 0.98, specificity from 0.42 to 0.99, positive predictive value from 0.09 to 0.92, and negative predictive value from 0.8 to 1.
LIMITATIONS
Lack of longitudinal studies, small sample size, and the heterogeneity of primary-care settings limited the generalizability of our results.
CONCLUSIONS
PHQ-9 has been widely validated and is recommended in a two-stage screening process. Longitudinal studies are necessary to provide evidence of long-term screening effectiveness.
Depression is a leading cause of disability. International guidelines recommend screening for depression and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) has been identified as the most reliable screening tool. We reviewed the evidence for using it within the primary care setting.
METHODS
We retrieved studies from MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library that carried out primary care-based depression screening using PHQ-9 in populations older than 12, from 1995 to 2018.
RESULTS
Forty-two studies were included in the systematic review. Most of the studies were cross-sectional (N=40, 95%), conducted in high-income countries (N=27, 71%) and recruited adult populations (N=38, 90%). The accuracy of the PHQ-9 was evaluated in 31 (74%) studies with a two-stage screening system, with structured interview most often carried out by primary care and mental health professionals. Most of the studies employed a cut-off score of 10 (N=24, 57%, total range 5 - 15). The overall sensitivity of PHQ-9 ranged from 0.37 to 0.98, specificity from 0.42 to 0.99, positive predictive value from 0.09 to 0.92, and negative predictive value from 0.8 to 1.
LIMITATIONS
Lack of longitudinal studies, small sample size, and the heterogeneity of primary-care settings limited the generalizability of our results.
CONCLUSIONS
PHQ-9 has been widely validated and is recommended in a two-stage screening process. Longitudinal studies are necessary to provide evidence of long-term screening effectiveness.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- closed
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.131
- PMID 33126078
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/70337
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