Study of the discriminative validity of the PHQ-9 and PHQ-2 in a sample of Brazilian women in the context of primary health care.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the discriminative validity of the Brazilian version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and of its reduced version (PHQ-2).


METHODS
The sample consisted of 177 women (60 cases of depression and 117 noncases). The SCID-IV was used as the gold standard.


RESULTS
For the PHQ-9, a cutoff score equal to or higher than 10 proved to be the most adequate for the screening of depression, whereas the best cutoff score for the PHQ-2 was found to lie between 3 and 4.


CONCLUSIONS
The systematic use of these instruments in nursing and in the context of primary health care could favor the early detection of depression.
de Lima Osório
Flávia
F
Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, and INCT Translational Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
Vilela Mendes
Ana
A
Crippa
José Alexandre
JA
Loureiro
Sonia Regina
SR
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing; D008875:Middle Aged; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results