The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study
Abstract Background: Depression has a point prevalence of 25% and lifetime prevalence of 50% in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Due to accessibility and brevity, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) may be a useful tool in clinical practice for screening and monitoring of depressiv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00949-8 |
| _version_ | 1811207764151631872 |
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| author | Emily Beswick Suzanne Quigley Pamela Macdonald Sarah Patrick Shuna Colville Siddharthan Chandran Peter Connick |
| author_facet | Emily Beswick Suzanne Quigley Pamela Macdonald Sarah Patrick Shuna Colville Siddharthan Chandran Peter Connick |
| author_sort | Emily Beswick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background: Depression has a point prevalence of 25% and lifetime prevalence of 50% in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Due to accessibility and brevity, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) may be a useful tool in clinical practice for screening and monitoring of depressive symptoms in people with MS (pwMS). Methods: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity and acceptability of the PHQ-9 as a screening tool for depressive symptoms in pwMS. PwMS completed online questionnaires at 3 time-points over 4-weeks. The PHQ-9, Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), Centre for Disease Control Health-Related Quality of Life Measure (CDC-HQOL-4) and clinical history. Results: 103 participants completed the PHQ-9 at three time points, 43% were categorised as depressed on at least one response. The PHQ-9 exhibited high internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.89), and test-re-test agreement (ICC 0.89, 95% CI 0.85–0.91). Convergent validity was indicated through positive correlation with the mental health items on the MSIS-29 (r = 0.46 and r = 0.50) and CDC-HQOL-4 (r = 0.79 and r = 0.73) at both assessment points. Positive correlations between the PHQ-9 and the MSIS-29 (r = 0.86 and r = 0.84) and CDC-HQOL-4 (r = 0.55 and r = 0.37) physical symptom sub-scores did not indicate divergent validity. 93% of ratings evaluated the PHQ-9 as “Very” or “Completely” acceptable. Conclusion: The PHQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of depressive symptoms in people with MS. Given its accessibility, ease of administration, and acceptability, we recommend the PHQ-9 as a tool to screen for depressive symptoms in people with MS. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T04:10:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3f99fef2c4646ee90103aa2177b2878 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T04:10:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3f99fef2c4646ee90103aa2177b28782022-12-22T03:48:32ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832022-11-011011910.1186/s40359-022-00949-8The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation studyEmily Beswick0Suzanne Quigley1Pamela Macdonald2Sarah Patrick3Shuna Colville4Siddharthan Chandran5Peter Connick6Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of EdinburghCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of EdinburghCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of EdinburghThe School of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, The University of EdinburghCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of EdinburghCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of EdinburghCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of EdinburghAbstract Background: Depression has a point prevalence of 25% and lifetime prevalence of 50% in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Due to accessibility and brevity, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) may be a useful tool in clinical practice for screening and monitoring of depressive symptoms in people with MS (pwMS). Methods: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity and acceptability of the PHQ-9 as a screening tool for depressive symptoms in pwMS. PwMS completed online questionnaires at 3 time-points over 4-weeks. The PHQ-9, Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), Centre for Disease Control Health-Related Quality of Life Measure (CDC-HQOL-4) and clinical history. Results: 103 participants completed the PHQ-9 at three time points, 43% were categorised as depressed on at least one response. The PHQ-9 exhibited high internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.89), and test-re-test agreement (ICC 0.89, 95% CI 0.85–0.91). Convergent validity was indicated through positive correlation with the mental health items on the MSIS-29 (r = 0.46 and r = 0.50) and CDC-HQOL-4 (r = 0.79 and r = 0.73) at both assessment points. Positive correlations between the PHQ-9 and the MSIS-29 (r = 0.86 and r = 0.84) and CDC-HQOL-4 (r = 0.55 and r = 0.37) physical symptom sub-scores did not indicate divergent validity. 93% of ratings evaluated the PHQ-9 as “Very” or “Completely” acceptable. Conclusion: The PHQ-9 is a reliable and valid measure of depressive symptoms in people with MS. Given its accessibility, ease of administration, and acceptability, we recommend the PHQ-9 as a tool to screen for depressive symptoms in people with MS.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00949-8Multiple sclerosisDepressionScreeningValidityReliabilityResponsiveness |
| spellingShingle | Emily Beswick Suzanne Quigley Pamela Macdonald Sarah Patrick Shuna Colville Siddharthan Chandran Peter Connick The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study BMC Psychology Multiple sclerosis Depression Screening Validity Reliability Responsiveness |
| title | The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study |
| title_full | The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study |
| title_fullStr | The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study |
| title_short | The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional validation study |
| title_sort | patient health questionnaire phq 9 as a tool to screen for depression in people with multiple sclerosis a cross sectional validation study |
| topic | Multiple sclerosis Depression Screening Validity Reliability Responsiveness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00949-8 |
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