| |
The
PHQ-9 is one measure for diagnosing depressive disorders (Kroenke
et al., 2001). The PHQ-9 responses of the 30-year old female
patient described previously are diagnostic for major depressive
disorder. Her PHQ-15 responses are not inconsistent with a patient
who might have somatization disorder as well, but typically the
approach to somatization is that attention is first given to co-existing
depressive or anxiety disorders since these can be important primary
causes of somatization, and the latter can be substantially reduced
with effective treatment of depression or anxiety. We have inadequate
data in this case to make a diagnosis of either generalized anxiety
disorder or borderline personality disorder.
The PHQ-9 is not the only brief measure for diagnosing depression.
Its advantages are that it can serve as both:
- a diagnostic
instrument for establishing criteria-based diagnoses of DSM-IV
disorders, and
- a continuous
measure for grading depression severity both at baseline and
in response to treatment.
However, a
number of other self-administered case-finding instruments for
detecting depression exist, and no one instrument has proven superior
to another (Williams
et al., 2002). The PHQ also has an anxiety module for detecting
panic and other anxiety disorders as well as modules for somatoform
(the PHQ-15), alcohol, and eating disorders. The PHQ-15 and PHQ-9
(when used as separate measures) as well as the full PHQ instrument
and scoring instructions are provided in Appendix
1.
|