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Cited by 493Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMental Health Treatment and AccessHealth Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life

Diagnostic accuracy of the mood module of the patient health questionnaire: a systematic review

Wittkampf, Karin A., Naeije, Leonie, Schene, Aart H., Huyser, Jochanan, van Weert, Henk C.·2007·General Hospital Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2007.06.004
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Abstract

Objective The nine-item mood module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was developed to screen and to diagnose patients in primary care with depressive disorders. We systematically reviewed the psychometric literature on the PHQ-9 and performed a meta-analysis to ascertain its summary sensitivity and specificity.Methods EMBASE, PubMed and PsycINFO were used to search literature up to July 2006. Studies were included if (1) they investigated the diagnostic accuracy of the PHQ-9 and (2) the PHQ-9 had been compared with a reference test. The quality of the studies was appraised using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies. We calculated sensitivity, specificity and confidence intervals for each included study. We used the random effects model to calculate the summary sensitivity and specificity.Results We found a sensitivity of 0.77 (0.71-0.84) and a specificity of 0.94 (0.90-0.97) for the PHQ-9. The positive predictive value in an unselected primary care population was 59%, which increased to 85-90% when the prior probability increased to 30-40%.Conclusion In primary care, the PHQ-9 is a valid diagnostic tool if used in selected subgroups of patients with a high prevalence of depressive disorder.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2007.06.004

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40 of 40 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The PHQ-9 is generally well validated and commonly used in primary care.

    “Although the PHQ-9 is generally well validated and commonly used in primary care (Wittkampf et al. , 2007)”

    From Do depressed and anxious men do groups? What works and what are the barriers to help seeking? (2014) · cites this paper as Wittkampf et al. , 2007

  • Earlier studies in primary care show that the PHQ-9 detects depression with a sensitivity around 90% and a specificity ranging from 77% to 88% when using the cut-off ≥10.

    “Earlier studies in primary care show that PHQ-9 detects depression with a sensitivity around 90% and a specificity ranging from 77% to 88% when using the cut-off ≥ 10. 15,17,23,24”

    From Comparison of two self-rating scales to detect depression: HADS and PHQ-9 (2009) · cites this paper as [23]

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Authors
Wittkampf, K. A., Naeije, L., Schene, A. H., Huyser, J., & van Weert, H. C.
Affiliations
Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam (NL)
Corresponding author
Wittkampf, Karin A.
ORCID
Venue
General Hospital Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2007-09
Volume
29
Issue
5
Pages
388-395
ISSN
0163-8343 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2007.06.004
OpenAlex
W2055505621
Cited by
493
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 41 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 29
FWCI
2.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • General Hospital Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
Keywords
PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire, depressive disorders, diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, primary care, depression screening, positive predictive value, prior probability
MeSH terms
Depression, Diagnostic Errors, Humans, Netherlands, Primary Health Care, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires

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