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Validation of PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 to Screen for Major Depression in the Primary Care Population
Open accessAbstract
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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“The PHQ-2 score was used to estimate the severity of depression, which assessed the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past two weeks [22].”
From Association between first-line antidepressant use and risk of dementia in older adults: a retrospective cohort study (2023) · cites this paper as [22]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“The PHQ-8 has excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α=.89) and excellent test-retest reliability [47].”
From Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Digital Interventions for Depressive Symptoms in Working Adults: Multiarm Randomized Controlled Trial (2023) · cites this paper as [47]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“The PHQ-8 has excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α of .89 in primary care settings and .88 in this study at t0) and excellent test–retest reliability [49].”
From Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Web-Based and Mobile Interventions for Common Mental Health Problems in Working Adults: Multi-Arm Randomized Pilot Trial (2022) · cites this paper as [49]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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Concordance of Patient and Physician Perceptions of Care in an Orthopedic Clinic
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“To minimize the effect of false negative results from PHQ-2 measurement, we altered the cutoff score of PHQ-2 from 3 to 2, which was reported to have a higher sensitivity, 28 and assessed the associations of depressive symptom change and the outcomes in a similar approach.”
Henderson, A. R., Harris, S. A., Kirkham, T., Charlesworth, J., & Murphy, M. (2023) · Sports Medicine - Open · doi:10.1186/s40798-023-00587-3 · Cited by 7
“A cut-off score of 10 and over is indicative of a depressive disorder (sensitivity = 88%, specificity = 88%) [19, 20] and was used as the cut-off for ‘depression symptoms’ in this study.”
MethodHallgren, K. A., Jack, H. E., Oliver, M. M., Berger, D. B., Bobb, J. F., Kivlahan, D. R., & Bradley, K. A. (2023) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.15075 · Cited by 8
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“5 years ago 24 (12) 5 (21) 11 (46) 8 (33) 10 (42) 22 (92) 19 (79) Walkability Car dependent 133 (65) 47 (35) 43 (32) 43 (32) 58 (44) 90 (68) 114 (86) Somewhat walkable 57 (28) 16 (28) 24 (42) 17 (30) 23 (40) 44 (77) 48 (84) Walkable 16 (8) 8 (50) 5 (31) 3 (19) 3 (19) 13 (81) 11 (69) Social Deprivation Index (n5204) #2…”
InfluentialPowers, A. D., Lathan, E. C., McAfee, E. E., Mekawi, Y., Dixon, H. D., Lopez, E., Ali, S., Hinrichs, R. C., Bradley, B., Carter, S. E., et al. (2024) · Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.xjmad.2024.100048 · Cited by 6
Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of adolescents and youth in Nairobi, Kenya
Gichangi, P., Byrne, M. E., Thiongo, M. N., Waithaka, M., Devoto, B., Gummerson, E., Wood, S. N., Anglewicz, P. A., & Decker, M. R. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1209836 · Cited by 7
“While the PHQ-2 has been shown to be reliable in assessing depressive symptoms (26, 53), it may not thoroughly cover all depressive symptoms.”
BackgroundCorrelates of Converted and Native Nondaily Smoking
Scheuermann, T. S., Mburu, W. E., Mathur, C., & Ahluwalia, J. S. (2014) · Nicotine & Tobacco Research · doi:10.1093/ntr/ntu272 · Cited by 7
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Prevalence and Determinants of Depression among Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia
Al-Atawi, F. N., Al-Atawi, M. A., Al-Shehri, A. A., Al-amri, S. M., Al-anazi, N. K., & AlQahtani, M. (2016) · International Journal of Medical Research Professionals · doi:10.21276/ijmrp.2016.2.6.009 · Cited by 7
Depression and Suicide Screening
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Las ganas de vivir como expresión del bienestar de las personas mayores
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McBain, R. K., Mwale, O., Ruderman, T., Kayira, W., Connolly, E., Chalamanda, M., Kachimanga, C., Khongo, B. D., Wilson, J., Wroe, E. B., et al. (2021) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-021-05601-1 · Cited by 8
“Household interviews will chiefly comprise a subset of the battery administered to participants: specifically, the PHQ-9, WHODAS, and EQ-5D-5L (primary outcomes).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialAssociations of Common Depression Treatment Metrics With Patient-centered Outcomes
Carlo, A. D., Basu, A., & Unützer, J. (2021) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0000000000001540 · Cited by 6
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“…perceived stress scale ( α = 0.56) [31], a 2-item diabetes distress scale [32,33], the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ2) depression screener [34], an 8-item scale assessing self-efficacy for performing diabetes self-care behaviors ( α = 0.82) [35], an adapted 4-item social support measure (…”
MethodInfluentialAccounting for racial bias and social determinants of health in a model of hypertension control
Hu, Y., Cordella, N., Mishuris, R. G., & Paschalidis, I. C. (2025) · BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making · doi:10.1186/s12911-025-02873-4 · Cited by 6
Velmovitsky, P. E., Keown‐Stoneman, C. D. G., Pfisterer, K. J., Hews‐Girard, J., Saliba, J., Saha, S., Patten, S. B., King, N., Duffy, A. C., & Phạm, Q. (2025) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/72669 · Cited by 8
“To label students as having clinically significant levels of anxiety or depression, a standard cutoff score of 10+ for each of the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 questionnaires was used [11,29-32].”
Maffoni, M., Magnani, A., Pierobon, A., Mafferra, A., Pasotti, F., Dallocchio, C., Chimento, P., Torlaschi, V., Trifirò, G., & Fundarò, C. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1670551 · Cited by 6
“Although brief screening instruments such as the PHQ-2 and GAD-2 have demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity (Kroenke et al., 2003, 2009; Arroll et al., 2010; Plummer et al., 2016; Staples et al., 2019; Giuliani et al., 2021), their psychometric performance relative to their full-length…”
Bidirectional LSTM and Attention for Depression Detection on Clinical Interview Transcripts
Li, M., Xu, H., Liu, W., & Liu, J. (2022) · IEEE International Conference on Information, Communication and Networks (ICICN) · doi:10.1109/icicn56848.2022.10006532 · Cited by 7
“The General practitioner employs semi-structured interviews, such as the subject Health Questionnaire [2] (PHQ) which is a gold standard for diagnosis of depression.”
BackgroundMisperceptions, Depression, and Voting for Election Deniers in the United States
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“We measured depressive symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), which is used to screen patients in primary care settings (Arroll et al., 2010) and has been validated for use in general population surveys (Kocalevent, Hinzm, & Brähler, 2013).”
MethodCarthon, J. M. B., Brom, H. M., Maye, A., Iroegbu, C., Gil, J., Rizzo, J. A., Amenyedor, K. E., Montalvo, W., & Villarruel, A. M. (2024) · Nursing Outlook · doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102234 · Cited by 7
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“Individuals who screen as potentially eligible (i.e., meet age criteria and have a PHQ-2 ≥ 3, indicative of a high likelihood of having current depression [6]) will be contacted for a follow-up phone screening survey.”
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MethodImproving Health of At-Risk Rural Patients project: A collaborative care model
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Kunkle, C. M., Abernethy, M., Tongeren, L. R. V., Fashokun, T., Wright, E. J., & Chen, C. C. G. (2017) · International Urogynecology Journal · doi:10.1007/s00192-017-3322-7 · Cited by 6
“Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), where a total score of 10–14 corresponds to moderate depression, 15–19moderately severe depression, and 20–27 severe depression [14].”
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“The PHQ-9, a validated measure of mood (Arroll et al., 2010), contains items on sleep, appetite, concentration and interest in activities.”
BackgroundPhysical Activity and Its Association with Depression in the Diabetic Hispanic Population
Rizvi, S., & Khan, A. (2019) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.4981 · Cited by 6
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Welter, T. L., Roßmann, P., & Hines, H. E. (2020) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1808661 · Cited by 6
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BackgroundNorful, A. A., Rosenfeld, A., Schlak, A. E., Silvestri, V., Lin, B., & de Jacq, K. (2023) · General Hospital Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2023.04.006 · Cited by 6
“, years in primary position; years’ experience); work stress (Work Stress Questionnaire [3]); somatic physical health symptoms [Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) [4]]; burnout [5]; job satisfaction; depression (Patient Health Questionnaire2 [6]); anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 [7]); and resilience (Brief…”
Nobels, A., Meersman, C., Lemmens, G. M. D., & Keygnaert, I. (2023) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.6036 · Cited by 6
“Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) ‐ 9 37 ‐ 39 and anxiety using the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) ‐ 7.”
MethodObstetrician-gynecologists’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding major depressive disorder
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Almeida, O. P., Yeap, B. B., Hankey, G. J., Golledge, J., & Flicker, L. A. (2013) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2013.09.007 · Cited by 6
“significant depressive symptoms and functional impairment have well-established facevalidity.(12,15) Finally, about 14% of participants did not answer the questions about sexual activity – this could potentially have affected the results of our analyses if missing data were not distributed at random in people with and…”
BackgroundAlmeida, O. P., Alfonso, H. S., Yeap, B. B., Hankey, G. J., & Flicker, L. A. (2012) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.06.043 · Cited by 6
“A PHQ-9 total score of 10 or greater indicates the presence of clinically significant depressive symptoms (Arroll et al., 2010), and was used as further evidence of recurrence or persistence of depressive symptoms during follow up.”
MethodHuang, S. S., Fong, S., Duong, T., & Quach, T. (2016) · Translational Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s13142-016-0398-4 · Cited by 6
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McKelvey, L. M., Fitzgerald, S., Edge, N. A. C., & Whiteside-Mansell, L. (2018) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-018-2533-y · Cited by 6
“A recent study of a primary care population (Arroll et al. 2010) demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-2 for diagnosing major depression of 86 and 78% with a score of 2 or higher, and 61 and 92% with a score 3 or higher.”
BackgroundFletcher, S. L., Chondros, P., Palmer, V. J., Chatterton, M. L., Spittal, M. J., Mihalopoulos, C., Wood, A., Harris, M., Burgess, P. M., Bassilios, B., et al. (2018) · Contemporary Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/j.cct.2018.12.014 · Cited by 6
“The PHQ-9 is a validated diagnostic measure in primary care [40], with demonstrated efficacy and sensitivity as an outcome measure for treatment trials with a recommended Reliable Change Index [41].”
MethodSelf-citationThe Value in Mental Health Screening for Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: What Patients Tell Us
McMillan, C., Lee, J. K., Hillier, L. M., Milligan, J., Lee, L. S., Bauman, C. A., Ferguson, M., Slonim, K., & Weber, K. (2019) · Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation · doi:10.1016/j.arrct.2019.100032 · Cited by 6
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“It has a validated sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 91% in primary care population study [22,23].”
BackgroundE-VOLUTION: A Text Messaging–Powered Intervention—Connection, Support, and HIV Eradication
Gerke, D. R., Glotfelty, J., Schlueter, J., Freshman, M., & Plax, K. L. (2020) · Health Promotion Practice · doi:10.1177/1524839920936242 · Cited by 6
“For instance, instead of asking a general question about mood, the automated texting program could be programed to administer the Patient Health Questionnaire–2 (Arroll et al., 2010).”
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Sexual Activity After Dysvascular Lower Extremity Amputation
Henderson, A. W., Norvell, D. C., Turner, A., Williams, R. M., Hakimi, K., & Czerniecki, J. (2016) · Rehabilitation Psychology · doi:10.1037/rep0000087 · Cited by 4
“) criteria (Arroll et al., 2010; Lowe, Kroenke, Herzog, & Grafe, 2004; Martin, Rief, Klaiberg, & Braehler, 2006), was used to assess the level of depressive symptoms at all time points.”
MethodHicks, T. A., Wilson, S. M., Thomas, S. P., Dennis, P. A., Neal, J. M., & Calhoun, P. S. (2017) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-017-9660-5 · Cited by 6
“PHQ-2 to indicate probable depression [40].”
Sullivan, M. J. L., Wideman, T. H., Gauthier, N., Thibault, P., Ellis, T., & Adams, H. (2022) · Pilot and Feasibility Studies · doi:10.1186/s40814-022-01040-0 · Cited by 5
Sim, C. S. M., Chen, H., Chong, S., Xia, O. J., Chew, C. S. E., Guo, X., Ng, L. P., Ch’ng, Y. C., Ong, J. L. H., Tan, J. K. M., et al. (2023) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103701 · Cited by 12
Fleischman, A., Lerner, C. F., Kloster, H. M., Chung, P. J., Klitzner, T. S., Cushing, C. C., Gerber, D. T., Katz, B., Warner, G., Howell, K. D., et al. (2023) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/49705 · Cited by 5
“The CP GMFCS measures and all caregiving measures have been well documented as reliable in the literature [39-45].”
MethodPredictive modeling of initiation and delayed mental health contact for depression
Panaite, V., Finch, D. K., Pfeiffer, P., Cohen, N., Alman, A. C., Haun, J. N., Schultz, S. K., Miles, S. R., Belanger, H. G., Kozel, F. A., et al. (2024) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-024-10870-y · Cited by 5
“Scores were qualified as positive if the PHQ-2 scores were above 2 and the PHQ-9 scores were above 9 [11].”
BackgroundWagner, F., Masango, M. G., Moch, S. L., Krull, G., Wagner, R. G., Dison, L., & Grayson, D. (2024) · Progressio South African Journal for Open and Distance Learning Practice · doi:10.25159/2663-5895/14226 · Cited by 7
“The PHQ-2 also uses a two-week recall to screen for depressive symptoms (Arroll et al. 2010).”
MethodMacConnel, H. A., Earleywine, M., & Radowitz, S. (2024) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/02698811241286726 · Cited by 8
Chan, F. H. F., Sim, P., Lim, P. X. H., Zhu, X., Lee, J., Haroon, S. W. P., Lau, T. W. L., Liu, A. Y. L., Khan, B. A., Choo, J. C. J., et al. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312039 · Cited by 5
Psychological distress and substance use among young adults with comorbid asthma and obesity
Hawkins, M. A. W., Clawson, A. H., Smith, C. E., Stout, M. E., Keirns, N. G., & Ruppe, N. M. (2019) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2019.1643353 · Cited by 6
Safety Protocols for Adolescent Substance Use Research in Clinical Settings
Levy, S., Tennermann, N., Marin, A. C., Wiseblatt, A. F., Shrier, L. A., Garvey, K. C., Dedeoğlu, F., Fishman, L. N., & Weitzman, E. R. (2020) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.030 · Cited by 5
Spanish Translation of StartSmartTM using the Beaton Process to Ensure Tech Equity
Gance‐Cleveland, B., Leiferman, J. A., Yates, S., Williams, A. T., Amura, C. R., Roberts, M., Hyer, J., Anderson, J., & Nodine, P. (2021) · Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved · doi:10.1353/hpu.2021.0052 · Cited by 5
Amador, R. O., Gfrerer, L., Hansdorfer, M. A., Colona, M. R., Tsui, J. M., & Austen, W. G. (2021) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000008428 · Cited by 5
Scarpis, E., Bravo, G., Cocconi, R., & Brunelli, L. (2022) · BMJ Leader · doi:10.1136/leader-2021-000534 · Cited by 5
An Individually Tailored Program to Increase Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors among the Elderly
Barak, S., Rabinovitz, T., Akiva-Maliniak, A. B., Schenker, R., Meiry, L., & Tesler, R. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph191711085 · Cited by 5
“The sensitivity and specificity of the assessment tool in identifying clinical depression is 74 and 91% with a score of three or higher [23].”
MethodBarandouzi, Z. A., Eng, T. Y., Shelton, J. W., Khanna, N., Scott, I., Meador, R., & Bruner, D. W. (2023) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-023-08058-x · Cited by 5
“Symptoms included in the PNS cluster were measured using different questionnaires, including Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) [27].”
MethodAdaptation to Telehealth of Personalized Group Visits for Late Stage Diabetic Kidney Disease
Drake, C., Rader, A., Clipper, C., Haney, M., Bulgin, D., Cameron, B., Kinard, T., Sangvai, D. G., Tomso, S., & D, R. S. M. (2023) · Kidney360 · doi:10.34067/kid.0000000000000301 · Cited by 5
“32 To evaluate the change in outcome before and after the intervention, we used a Wilcoxon signed-rank test to report a two-sided P value and made no adjustment for multiple comparisons at baseline to 6 months after the intervention.”
MethodMeyer, K., Lee, K., Thorngthip, S., Burant, P. A., Lippe, M., Neidre, D. B., White, C. L., Norman, R. S., Choi, B. Y., Glover, C. M., et al. (2024) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-024-08204-8 · Cited by 5
“The PHQ-9 demonstrates specificity and sensitivity at 74–88% and 88–91%, respectively, for major depression with a cut-off score of 10 [39, 40].”
BackgroundAlzahrani, F., Madkhali, O. A. A., Hijri, A. M., Alaqil, M. A., Khardali, A., Alolayan, S. O., Thaqfan, S. S. A., Harbi, A. M. A., Aljabri, B. K., Almikhlafi, M. A., et al. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-03074-4 · Cited by 7
“A score of ≥ 3 suggests potential depression, making the PHQ-2 a valuable tool in time-constrained settings [30].”
An overview of psychological functioning in systemic lupus erythematosus
Nicassio, P. M., Carr, F. N., & Moldovan, I. M. (2011) · International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology · doi:10.2217/ijr.11.45 · Cited by 6
Bridges, A. J., Dueweke, A. R., Anastasia, E. A., & Rodríguez, J. H. (2018) · Journal of Latinx Psychology · doi:10.1037/lat0000114 · Cited by 5
Bhattacharjee, K., Kumar, B. A., Sinha, A., Swar, S., Maiti, A., & Praveen, D. (2018) · Journal of Diabetes Metabolic Disorders & Control · doi:10.15406/jdmdc.2018.05.00164 · Cited by 5
Bryan, C. J., Wood, D., Applegarth, D. M., & Bryan, A. O. (2019) · Armed Forces & Society · doi:10.1177/0095327x19842220 · Cited by 5
Method to Convert an 8-Item PCL-5 Score to a Total PCL-5 Score: a Scaled Equation Analysis
Brier, Z. M. F., & Price, M. (2020) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-020-00140-z · Cited by 6
Flaig, C., Humar, A., Kirshner, E., Hughes, C. B., Ganesh, S., Tevar, A. D., & Steel, J. L. (2021) · Clinical Transplantation · doi:10.1111/ctr.14438 · Cited by 5
Shahzadi, M., & Mahmood, K. (2023) · Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences · doi:10.54393/pjhs.v4i09.1030 · Cited by 5
Jin, H., & Wu, S. (2019) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/12392 · Cited by 5
“Existing research has tested the PHQ for depression screening using paper-based self-reported assessment [48-50], in-person interviewer assessment [25,51], and telephone interviewer assessment [15,25].”
Measuring Patients’ Basic Resource Needs: The Role of a Small Survey to Guide Operational Decisions
Steiner, J. F., Kimpo, T. K., Lawton, C. I., Sterrett, A. T., Paolino, A. R., & Zeng, C. X. (2018) · The Permanente Journal · doi:10.7812/tpp/18-098 · Cited by 5
Use of Report Cards to Increase Primary Care Physician Depression Screening
Yin, I., Wan, W., Staab, E. M., Vinci, L. M., & Laiteerapong, N. (2020) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06065-w · Cited by 5
Illicit drug use and self-reported vision loss among military service members or veterans
McDaniel, J. T., Jenkins, W. D., Albright, D. L., Null, D., McIntosh, S., & McDaniel, M. (2020) · BMJ Military Health · doi:10.1136/bmjmilitary-2020-001518 · Cited by 5
A proactive phone intervention for older adults to address loneliness identified by a health plan
Hough, K. A., Tha, S. H., Perissinotto, C. M., Burnes, P., & Kotwal, A. A. (2024) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.15223 · Cited by 4
Chan, S., Tang, Y., Xu, H., Zhang, J., Kwok, K., Tam, N. W. Y., & Tang, W.-H. (2025) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare13060683 · Cited by 4
“Validation studies have confirmed the high sensitivity of the PHQ measurement in detecting major depression [24,25].”
Wahlund, T., Perrin, S. G., Lauri, K. O., Burman, M., Dagerborn, S., Meregalli, M., Västhagen, M., Jolstedt, M., Nord, M., Serlachius, E., et al. (2025) · Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · doi:10.1080/16506073.2025.2515196 · Cited by 4
“Instead, a separate mediation analysis was carried out to explore whether changes in self-reported depression (PHQ-2) mediated worry outcomes (PSWQ-C).”
InfluentialThe Epidemiology of the Long-Term Care Needs and Unmet Needs of Older Veterans in the United States
Garcia‐Davis, S., Hlaing, W. M., Vidot, D. C., Feaster, D. J., Hansen, J. L., Brintz, B. J., Intrator, O. K., Leykum, L. K., Bouldin, E. D., TRIVEDI, R. B., et al. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm14124219 · Cited by 4
“…survey included sex, marital status, education level, missed appointments due to transportation problems [47], food insecurity [48], medication insecurity [49], health literacy [50], the presence of a caregiver, homebound status [51], possible depression (PHQ-2) [52], and anxiety (GAD-2) [53].”
Genna, C., Thekkan, K. R., Cancani, F., Nardo, M. D., Rossi, A., Franci, M., Satta, T., Chiusolo, F., Ranieri, C. D., Piga, S., et al. (2025) · Intensive and Critical Care Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2025.104190 · Cited by 4
Lakhan, R., Vergara, M., Moore, Z., & Sharma, M. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15091281 · Cited by 4
“Depression, anxiety, and stress can lead to poor attention and concentration, which can be a deterrent in learning, retaining information, and maintaining motivation (Deng et al., 2022; Grøtan et al., 2019).”
Oh, J. W., Kim, S. M., Lee, D., Son, N., Uh, J., Yoon, J. H., Choi, Y., & Lee, S. (2023) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/45543 · Cited by 4
“Existing literature has considered that PHQ-2 score of 2 or higher out of a total score of 6 to potentially screen for depression [13,28].”
Reduced Accuracy of Intake Screening Questionnaires Tied to Quality Metrics
Simon, J., Panzer, J., Wright, K. M., Ekong, A., Driscoll, P., Mohanty, N., & Sinsky, C. A. (2023) · The Annals of Family Medicine · doi:10.1370/afm.3019 · Cited by 4
Khiro, M. A. K., Alshahrani, A., Jabali, S. H., Alyahya, Y. A., & Alamri, M. (2024) · Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care · doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1174_23 · Cited by 5
“[9] The researcher sent the study proposal to the KFAFH‑Southern Region ethical committee; then after getting the approval, the researcher got permission from the Diabetic Center director and participated patients through verbal consents, and the researcher explained the purpose of the study to all…”
MethodLi, J., Luo, X., & Liu, H. (2024) · Death Studies · doi:10.1080/07481187.2024.2329180 · Cited by 5
“…inclusion criteria for participants were (a) having mild depressive symptoms (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores greater than 5) (Arroll et al., 2010) and (b) having one or more episodes of suicidal ideation in the last month (two items derived from the Beck Scale for Suicide…”
Deng, Y., Frey, J. J., Osteen, P. J., Mosby, A., Imboden, R., Ware, O. D., & Bazell, A. T. (2024) · Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research · doi:10.1007/s10488-024-01384-0 · Cited by 4
“One of the primary standardized measures included in the ISP is the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Arroll et al., 2010; Spitzer, 1999).”
Liu, C. M., Fischer, J. L., Alt, J. A., Bodner, T., Chowdhury, N. I., Getz, A. E., Hwang, P. H., Kimple, A. J., Mace, J. C., Smith, T. L., et al. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0310986 · Cited by 4
Metadata
- Authors
- Arroll, B., Goodyear-Smith, F., Crengle, S., Gunn, J., Kerse, N., Fishman, T., Falloon, K., & Hatcher, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- 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
- 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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