Cited by 1,279Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMental Health Treatment and AccessTreatment of Major Depression

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Validation of PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 to Screen for Major Depression in the Primary Care Population

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Arroll, B., Goodyear-Smith, F., Crengle, S., Gunn, J., Kerse, N., Fishman, T., Falloon, K., Hatcher, S.·2010·The Annals of Family Medicine

DOI 10.1370/afm.1139PMC PMC2906530

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Abstract

PURPOSE: Although screening for unipolar depression is controversial, it is potentially an efficient way to find undetected cases and improve diagnostic acumen. Using a reference standard, we aimed to validate the 2- and 9-question Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ-2 and PHQ-9) in primary care settings. The PHQ-2 comprises the first 2 questions of the PHQ-9. METHODS: Consecutive adult patients attending Auckland family practices completed the PHQ-9, after which they completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) depression reference standard. Sensitivities and specificities for PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 2,642 patients who completed both the PHQ-9 and the CIDI. Sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-2 for diagnosing major depression were 86% and 78%, respectively, with a score of 2 or higher and 61% and 92% with a score 3 or higher; for the PHQ-9, they were 74% and 91%, respectively, with a score of 10 or higher. For the PHQ-2 a score of 2 or higher detected more cases of depression than a score of 3 or higher. For the PHQ-9 a score of 10 or higher detected more cases of major depression than the PHQ determination of major depression originally described by Spitzer et al in 1999. CONCLUSIONS: We report the largest validation study of the PHQ-2 and PHQ-9, compared with a reference standard interview, undertaken in an exclusively primary care population. The PHQ-2 score or 2 or higher had good sensitivity but poor specificity in detecting major depression. Using a PHQ-2 threshold score of 2 or higher rather than 3 or higher resulted in more depressed patients being correctly identified. A PHQ-9 score of 10 or higher appears to detect more depressed patients than the originally described PHQ-9 scoring for major depression.

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Validation and Utility of a Self-report Version of PRIME-MD<SUBTITLE>The PHQ Primary Care Study</SUBTITLE>
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Method
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Park, C., Shimada, S., & Angelica, P. (2023) · Journal of Global Health Reports · doi:10.29392/001c.75168 · Cited by 1
Development of a rapid tool for screening financial toxicity based on the comprehensive score for financial toxicity
Wang, L.-L., & Xu, R. H. (2024) · Journal of Cancer Policy · doi:10.1016/j.jcpo.2024.100475 · Cited by 1
Compulsive Sexual Behavior and Its Sexual and Psychological Related Factors Among Iranian Married Men: A Nationwide Study
Khayer, E., Zarei, R., Damghanian, M., Bőthe, B., & Farnam, F. (2024) · Sexual Health & Compulsivity · doi:10.1080/26929953.2024.2352430 · Cited by 2
“The validity and reliability of this questionnaire were acceptable in both foreign (Arroll et al., 2010) and Persian (Dadfar & Lester, 2017) studies.”
The impact of financial incentives on mental health among adults in HIV care in Lake Zone, Tanzania
Chitle, P., Sheira, L. A., Katabaro, E., Winters, S., Njau, P. F., Sabasaba, A. N., & McCoy, S. I. (2024) · AIDS · doi:10.1097/qad.0000000000003948 · Cited by 1
Correlates of Self-Reported Executive Function Impairment Among Medicaid Beneficiaries With Type 2 Diabetes
Nordheim, D. V., Herrick, C., Verdecias, N., Garg, R., Kreuter, M. W., & McQueen, A. (2024) · Diabetes Spectrum · doi:10.2337/ds23-0067 · Cited by 1
Association of Symptoms and Collaborative Care Intervention with Systemic Inflammation Biomarkers in ESKD
Kallem, C. J., Alghwiri, A. A., Yabes, J. G., Roumelioti, M., Erickson, S. J., Rollman, B. L., Weisbord, S. D., Unruh, M. L., Yoram Vodovotz, B., Jhamb, M., et al. (2024) · Kidney360 · doi:10.34067/kid.0000000000000512 · Cited by 1
Sensitivity and specificity of Aboriginal‐developed items to supplement the adapted PHQ ‐9 screening measure for depression: results from the Getting it Right study
Skinner, T. C., Brown, A. D. H., Teixeira-Pinto, A. M., Farnbach, S., Glozier, N., Askew, D. A., Gee, G., Cass, A., & Hackett, M. L. (2024) · The Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/mja2.52406 · Cited by 1
“14 The items relating to worry in Western psychology contexts are more typically associated with anxiety, being a cardinal symptom of generalised anxiety disorder in diagnostic manuals; 2 they are not listed as a diagnostic symptom of depression and not included in the list of 52 symptoms used in…”
Background
The relationship between self-reported antipsychotics side effects and depression in Saudi Arabia
AlRuthia, Y. S. (2024) · Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2024.102164 · Cited by 1
“…and measuring the severity of depression and has been validated among different psychiatric patient populations with higher scores indicating more severe levels of depression (Kroenke et al., 2001, Arroll et al., 2010, Inoue et al., 2012, Manea et al., 2015, Beard et al., 2016, Chen et al., 2023).”
Interrelationship between depression and low back pain-related disability among patients seen at orthopedic clinics in Al Qassim region, Saudi Arabia: Prevalence, severity, and determinants
Alsughier, N. A. (2024) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.1177/00912174241287332 · Cited by 1
The association of distress and depression screening measures and other electronic health record information with adjuvant endocrine therapy persistence
Neuner, J. M., Stolley, M. R., Kamaraju, S., Tiegs, J., Sparapani, R., Makris, V., & Flynn, K. E. (2024) · Breast Cancer Research and Treatment · doi:10.1007/s10549-024-07513-5 · Cited by 1
“The Patient Health Questionnaire 2/9 [28] is a version that only requires completion of all nine items if the first two are endorsed.”
Chapter 1. The Reproductive Life Cycle
Lighten, A., Zein, M., Olgun, M., & Catapano, L. A. (2021) · American Psychiatric Association Publishing eBooks · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9781615379545.lg01 · Cited by 1
Differential associations of serum globulin and albumin-globulin ratio with depression in cancer and non-cancer populations: a cross-sectional study
Zan, Y., Guo, C., Yin, Y., & Dong, G. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1523060 · Cited by 1
Correlates of the sexual and reproductive health service utilization among older people living with HIV in China: Findings from the sexual well-being (SWELL) Study
Peng, X., Li, X., Wang, B., Wang, Y., Xu, P., Lü, Y., Liang, B., Ouyang, L., Wu, G., Yu, M., et al. (2025) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2025.105729 · Cited by 1
An exploratory analysis of the tinnitus magnitude equation (TMe). An adaptation level theory based measure of tinnitus therapy outcome
Searchfield, G. D., & Vajsakovic, D. (2025) · Hearing Research · doi:10.1016/j.heares.2025.109413 · Cited by 1
An eDelphi Consensus on Key Questions for a Vulvar Health Clinic Intake Questionnaire
Foster, J., Negris, O., Abraham, O., Kraus, C. N., Little, A. J., Patel, A., Vaughn, O. L. A., & Mauskar, M. (2025) · Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease · doi:10.1097/lgt.0000000000000919 · Cited by 1
Suicide Risk and Protective Factors for Sexual Minority College Students: A Latent Class Analysis
Cook, K. (2025) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.1177/00302228251390153 · Cited by 1
Depression and anxiety symptoms in male and female farmers: association with farm characteristics and mental health protection strategies in the FarmCoSwiss cohort
Ammann, P., Jeong, A. L., Lovison, G., Doetzer, J., Fuhrimann, S., Imboden, M., Ingold, K. M., Winkler, M. S., & Probst-Hensch, N. M. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-25407-z · Cited by 1
“Both tools are validated in primary care settings [46, 47].”
Depression, Populism, and Presidential Approval
Baum, M., Druckman, J. N., Ognyanova, K., Lazer, D., & Perlis, R. H. (2025) · International Journal of Public Opinion Research · doi:10.1093/ijpor/edaf050 · Cited by 1
Child maltreatment linked to incident chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases and its underlying pathways: An analysis of the UK biobank
Lin, S., Bai, W., Zheng, Y., Pan, Y., Zhuang, M., Zhan, Y. J., & Liu, M. (2025) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107868 · Cited by 1
A Real-World Longitudinal Case-Study Implementing Digital Screening and Treatment for Distress in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The COMPASS-IBD Patient Journey
Jones, A. S. K., Seaton, N., Harding, S., Duff, A., Hudson, J. L., Wroe, A. L., Norton, S., Singh, H., Onih, J., & Moss-Morris, R. E. (2025) · Inflammatory Bowel Diseases · doi:10.1093/ibd/izaf259 · Cited by 2
Study protocol and pilot study results for a clinical intervention trial of PKU carriers and non-carriers: the Phe for Me trial
Khan, S., Fennell, M. L., Fallah, M., Jordan, H., Kroezen, Z., Britz‐McKibbin, P., Millar, P. J., Heister, R., Vohl, M., & Keathley, J. (2026) · Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases · doi:10.1186/s13023-025-04131-2 · Cited by 1
“The mental health assessments will consist of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) [23], the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) survey [24], and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) [25].”
Child maltreatment and its association with incident irritable bowel syndrome: genetic risk and mediation pathways in the UK biobank
Bai, W., Zheng, Y., Lin, S., Pan, Y., Zhan, Y. J., & Liu, M. (2026) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdag004 · Cited by 1
The Relationship Between Diagnosed Cancer and Self‐Reported Distress and Depression: A Cross‐Sectional Study Using the 2020 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
Sloan, K., Orionzi, D. E., & Muench, U. (2026) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.70451 · Cited by 1
“The PHQ‐2 variable had scores between 0 and 6, which we analyzed as a binary variable with scores of 0–1 for no depression symptoms and scores of 2–6 indicating depression symptoms, based on prior literature [23, 24].”
Adapting a Poststroke Sedentary Behavior Intervention for Remote Delivery: Lessons from a Formative Descriptive Case Series
Kringle, E. A., Jahnke, K., Badu, A., Walsh, J., Skidmore, E. R., Lakshminarayan, K., Gibbs, B. B., & Lewis, B. (2026) · Telemedicine Reports · doi:10.1177/26924366261447903 · Cited by 1
Pharmacogenomic-informed antidepressant prescribing for moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms in Australian general practice (PRESIDE): a double-blind, randomised controlled trial
Emery, J. D., Saya, S., Chondros, P., Chatterton, M. L., Mihalopoulos, C., Galea, M., Chen, T., Polasek, T. M., Laughlin, A., Hesson, L. B., et al. (2026) · The Lancet Primary Care · doi:10.1016/j.lanprc.2026.100158 · Cited by 1
Self-citation
A Real‐World Cross‐Sectional Study on Suspected Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: Multiple Heterogeneous Symptoms Identified
Gutsche, A., Buttgereit, T., Buchkremer, R., Panse, J., Kreddig, N., Ptock, O., Roll, S., Grabowska, W. A., Aulenbacher, F., Metz, M., et al. (2026) · Clinical and Translational Allergy · doi:10.1002/clt2.70184 · Cited by 1
Efficacy of smartphone- and bibliotherapy-delivered multicomponent lifestyle medicine interventions for probable depression: A three-arm randomized controlled trial
Chow, C.-Y., Wong, V. W.-H., & Ho, F. Y. (2026) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2026.122319 · Cited by 1
Lessons Learned: Implementation of a Culturally Focused Psychiatric Consultation Service for Latino Americans and Asian Americans
Trinh, N., Hails, K. A., Flaherty, K., Chang, T. E., D, M. F. M., & Yeung, A. (2015) · Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved · doi:10.1353/hpu.2015.0096 · Cited by 1
Prescriptive Guide for Getting the Depressed Employee Back to Work
Timm, B. J., Swanton, C. L., Asp, K. M., Miller, S. K., & Ring, D. L. (2013) · The Journal for Nurse Practitioners · doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2013.02.020 · Cited by 1
Care for common mental health problems: applying evidence beyond RCTs
Byng, R. (2012) · Family Practice · doi:10.1093/fampra/cmr132 · Cited by 1
Assessing Depression in the Primary Care Setting
Haefner, J., Daly, M., & Russell, S. (2017) · Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice · doi:10.1891/2380-9418.10.1.28 · Cited by 1
“Asking these first two questions of the PHQ-9 is found to be 86% sensitive and 78% specific in adults for a score of 2 or higher (Arroll et al., 2010).”
Background
Association between Spirometric Parameters and Depressive Symptoms in New Mexico Uranium Workers
Sharma, S., Shore, X., Mohite, S., Myers, O., Kesler, D. O., Vlahovich, K., & Sood, A. (2021) · Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care · doi:10.13175/swjpcc015-20 · Cited by 1
“The questionnaire included demographics, severity of dyspnea via the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale (13), information on smoking history, cardiovascular status, and screening for depressive symptoms (using the modified Patient Health Questionnaire or PHQ-2) which includes two items on depressed…”
Method
Associations Between Smoking Status and Physical and Mental Health-Related Quality of Life Among Individuals With Mobility Impairments
Endrighi, R., Zhao, Y., Hughes, R. B., Kumar, D., & Borrelli, B. (2021) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaab077 · Cited by 1
Depression
Rintell, L. S., Buchholz, K. R., & Gladstone, T. R. G. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83469-2_6 · Cited by 1
Supportive and Palliative Care for Genitourinary Malignancies
Wulff-Burchfield, E. M. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-89891-5_2 · Cited by 1
Association between daily working hours and depressive symptoms in resident physicians in Peru
Alva‐Díaz, C., Nieto-Gutiérrez, W., Taype-Rondán, Á., Timaná-Ruíz, R., Herrera‐Añazco, P., Jumpa-Armas, D. V., & Escobedo-Palza, S. (2021) · Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría (English ed ) · doi:10.1016/j.rcpeng.2019.03.011 · Cited by 1
Prevention
Nuyen, B. A., Doo, F. X., Hannan, P. L., & Hayon, R. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-24025-7_5 · Cited by 1
A brief course of digitally delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of blood contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder: a structured case report
Purrington, J. (2022) · The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist · doi:10.1017/s1754470x22000332 · Cited by 1
“The PHQ-9 is a 9-item self-report questionnaire assessing experiences of depression (Arroll et al., 2010).”
BackgroundMethod
Bienestar subjetivo e indicadores de depresión en estudiantes universitarios
Orantes, K. J., Ordóñez, V. R. U., & González-Aguilar, D. W. (2022) · Revista Guatemalteca de Educación Superior · doi:10.46954/revistages.v5i2.92 · Cited by 1
Untitled work
(2012) · PubMed · Cited by 111
Self-citation

Authors: Arroll, B., Goodyear-Smith, F., Crengle, S., Gunn, J., Kerse, N., Fishman, T., Falloon, K., & Hatcher, S.
Affiliations: University of Auckland (NZ)
ORCID: Arroll, B.
Crengle, S.
Gunn, J.
Kerse, N.
Falloon, K.
Hatcher, S.
Venue: The Annals of Family Medicine
Publisher: Annals of Family Medicine
Published: 2010-07-01
Volume: 8
Issue: 4
Pages: 348-353
ISSN: 1544-1709 (ISSN-L)
1544-1717
DOI: 10.1370/afm.1139
PMC: PMC2906530
OpenAlex: W2122884679
Cited by: 1,279
References: 18
Citations by year: 2026: 60 · 2025: 89 · 2024: 115 · 2023: 115 · 2022: 137 · 2021: 182 · 2020: 116 · 2019: 92 · 2018: 71 · 2017: 63 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 55 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 23
FWCI: 34.75
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: diamond
doi.org
Locations: The Annals of Family Medicine (publishedVersion)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders: Health Research Council of New Zealand
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords: PHQ-2, PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire, major depressive disorder, depression screening, primary care, screening sensitivity and specificity, Composite International Diagnostic Interview, threshold scores, general practice
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Middle Aged, New Zealand, Physicians, Family, Predictive Value of Tests, Primary Health Care, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sensitivity and Specificity, Software, Time Factors, Prevalence, Young Adult

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Validation of PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 to Screen for Major Depression in the Primary Care Population

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