title: Validation of the GAD-7 (Malay version) among women attending a primary care clinic in Malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anxiety is a common mental health disorder in primary care, with a higher prevalence among women compared to men.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This is the first study to validate the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire (GAD-7) as a case-finding instrument for anxiety in a primary care setting in Malaysia. The objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Malay version of the GAD-7 in detecting anxiety among women.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted in a government-funded primary care clinic in Malaysia. Consecutive women participants attending the clinic during data collection were given self-administered questionnaires including the GAD-7 (Malay version). Participants then were selected using systematic weighted random sampling for Composite International Diagnostic Interviews (CIDI). The GAD-7 was validated against the CIDI reference standard.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 87.5% for the questionnaire completion (895/1023), and 96.8% for diagnostic interviews (151/156). The prevalence of anxiety was 7.8%. The GAD-7 had a sensitivity of 76% (95% CI 61%-87%), a specificity of 94% (88%-97%), positive LR 13.7 (6.2-30.5) and negative LR 0.25 (0.14-0.45).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Malay version of the GAD-7 was found to be valid and reliable in case-finding for anxiety in this study. Due to its brevity, it is a suitable case-finding instrument for detecting anxiety in primary care settings in Malaysia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. sherina@putra.upm.edu.my
authors.forename: Sherina Mohd
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sidik
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arroll
authors.forename: Felicity
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Goodyear-Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult