Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting
Background: Validated depression and anxiety symptom screeners are commonly used in clinical settings. How results from different brief depression and anxiety symptom assessment tools compare to each other is not well established, especially in real world healthcare settings. This study aimed to com...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2021-03-01
|
| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021005788 |
| _version_ | 1818927352894193664 |
|---|---|
| author | Lila Peters Aimee Peters Evie Andreopoulos Naomi Pollock Reena L. Pande Heidi Mochari-Greenberger |
| author_facet | Lila Peters Aimee Peters Evie Andreopoulos Naomi Pollock Reena L. Pande Heidi Mochari-Greenberger |
| author_sort | Lila Peters |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Validated depression and anxiety symptom screeners are commonly used in clinical settings. How results from different brief depression and anxiety symptom assessment tools compare to each other is not well established, especially in real world healthcare settings. This study aimed to compare the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 Depression scale (DASS-Depression) and Anxiety (DASS-Anxiety) scale to the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) respectively, in a real-world virtual behavioral healthcare setting. Methods: This was a retrospective comparison study of clinical data from a population of adults who completed a consultation via telephone or secure video with a licensed therapist as part of a standardized, evidence-based, virtual behavioral therapy program for individuals with comorbid medical and behavioral health conditions. The joint distributions and correlations between scores yielded by each depression and anxiety scale were assessed using descriptive and Spearman correlation statistics. Results: The DASS-Depression and PHQ-8 were highly correlated (r = .71; p=<.001); the DASS-Anxiety and GAD-7 correlation was also high (r = .61; p=<.001). The PHQ-8 categorized more individuals as having above-threshold depression scores versus the DASS-Depression (71.5% vs. 43.5%; p < .001). The GAD-7 categorized more individuals as having above-threshold anxiety scores versus the DASS-Anxiety (59.0% vs. 45.0%; p < .001). Limitations: This study compared results yielded by validated screeners, precluding conclusions related to the validity of screener results. Conclusions: The DASS-Depression and PHQ-8 and the DASS-Anxiety and GAD-7 similarly ranked symptom severity. The PHQ-8 and GAD-7 were more likely than the DASS-21 Depression or Anxiety scales to classify individuals as having above-threshold symptom severity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T03:11:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea9e3a41c0d240c1a374894073a89ad5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T03:11:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea9e3a41c0d240c1a374894073a89ad52022-12-21T19:55:28ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402021-03-0173e06473Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care settingLila Peters0Aimee Peters1Evie Andreopoulos2Naomi Pollock3Reena L. Pande4Heidi Mochari-Greenberger5AbleTo Clinical Research, New York, NY, United StatesAbleTo Clinical Research, New York, NY, United StatesAbleTo Clinical Research, New York, NY, United StatesAbleTo Clinical Research, New York, NY, United StatesAbleTo Clinical Research, New York, NY, United StatesCorresponding author.; AbleTo Clinical Research, New York, NY, United StatesBackground: Validated depression and anxiety symptom screeners are commonly used in clinical settings. How results from different brief depression and anxiety symptom assessment tools compare to each other is not well established, especially in real world healthcare settings. This study aimed to compare the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 Depression scale (DASS-Depression) and Anxiety (DASS-Anxiety) scale to the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) respectively, in a real-world virtual behavioral healthcare setting. Methods: This was a retrospective comparison study of clinical data from a population of adults who completed a consultation via telephone or secure video with a licensed therapist as part of a standardized, evidence-based, virtual behavioral therapy program for individuals with comorbid medical and behavioral health conditions. The joint distributions and correlations between scores yielded by each depression and anxiety scale were assessed using descriptive and Spearman correlation statistics. Results: The DASS-Depression and PHQ-8 were highly correlated (r = .71; p=<.001); the DASS-Anxiety and GAD-7 correlation was also high (r = .61; p=<.001). The PHQ-8 categorized more individuals as having above-threshold depression scores versus the DASS-Depression (71.5% vs. 43.5%; p < .001). The GAD-7 categorized more individuals as having above-threshold anxiety scores versus the DASS-Anxiety (59.0% vs. 45.0%; p < .001). Limitations: This study compared results yielded by validated screeners, precluding conclusions related to the validity of screener results. Conclusions: The DASS-Depression and PHQ-8 and the DASS-Anxiety and GAD-7 similarly ranked symptom severity. The PHQ-8 and GAD-7 were more likely than the DASS-21 Depression or Anxiety scales to classify individuals as having above-threshold symptom severity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021005788DepressionAnxietySymptom assessmentPatient health questionnaireGeneralized anxiety disorder 7Depression anxiety stress scales 21 |
| spellingShingle | Lila Peters Aimee Peters Evie Andreopoulos Naomi Pollock Reena L. Pande Heidi Mochari-Greenberger Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting Heliyon Depression Anxiety Symptom assessment Patient health questionnaire Generalized anxiety disorder 7 Depression anxiety stress scales 21 |
| title | Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting |
| title_full | Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting |
| title_short | Comparison of DASS-21, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting |
| title_sort | comparison of dass 21 phq 8 and gad 7 in a virtual behavioral health care setting |
| topic | Depression Anxiety Symptom assessment Patient health questionnaire Generalized anxiety disorder 7 Depression anxiety stress scales 21 |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021005788 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lilapeters comparisonofdass21phq8andgad7inavirtualbehavioralhealthcaresetting AT aimeepeters comparisonofdass21phq8andgad7inavirtualbehavioralhealthcaresetting AT evieandreopoulos comparisonofdass21phq8andgad7inavirtualbehavioralhealthcaresetting AT naomipollock comparisonofdass21phq8andgad7inavirtualbehavioralhealthcaresetting AT reenalpande comparisonofdass21phq8andgad7inavirtualbehavioralhealthcaresetting AT heidimocharigreenberger comparisonofdass21phq8andgad7inavirtualbehavioralhealthcaresetting |