title: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in coronary care patients following acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: The utility of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as a screening instrument for coronary care patients following acute myocardial infarction (MI) was investigated. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the HADS to determine its psychometric properties in 335 MI patients over three observation points (1 week, 6 weeks and 6 months). Internal and test-retest reliabilities of the HADS total and HADS sub-scale scores were generally found to be acceptable. The underlying factor structure of the HADS comprised three distinct factors. Support was found for the use of the HADS sub-scales to assess dimensions of anhedonia, psychic anxiety and psychomotor agitation. The HADS may be a useful screening instrument to assess post-MI patients for symptoms of psychological distress. Further research is required to determine the three-factor structure of the HADS in other clinical groups.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003325:Coronary Care Units; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012803:Sick Role