title: Accuracy of anxiety and depression screening tools in heart transplant recipients.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of psychological screening tools in outpatient heart transplant recipients.
  
  
  
  Forty-eight heart transplant recipients completed the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item scale (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7), Kessler Psychological Distress 10-item Scale (K-10) and Medical Outcomes Short Form 36-item Health Survey. A structured psychological interview (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Version 6) was conducted after completion of the questionnaires. Internal consistency, criterion validity and construct validity of the PHQ-9, GAD-7 and K-10 were evaluated.
  
  
  
  Internal consistency supported the reliability of the screening tools. The optimal cut-off on the PHQ-9 for depression was 10 (sensitivity=0.86; specificity=0.93). A score of 6 on the GAD-7 maximized sensitivity (0.75) and specificity (0.89) for anxiety. A score of 17 on the K-10 was the optimal cut-off for diagnosis of either anxiety or depression (sensitivity=0.83; specificity=0.84). Increasing scores on the screening tools were associated with lower health-related quality of life.
  
  
  
  Psychometric analyses support the reliability and validity of the PHQ-9, GAD-7 and K-10 as screening tools for detection of anxiety and depression in heart transplant recipients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia. Electronic address: aaron.conway@qut.edu.au.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheridan
authors.affiliation: Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Unit, The Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside, QLD 4032, Australia.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maddicks-Law
authors.affiliation: Nursing Research and Practice Development Centre, The Prince Charles Hospital & Australian Catholic University, Chermside, QLD 4032, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fulbrook
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Heart and Mind, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
authors.forename: Chantal F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Ski
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Heart and Mind, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Doering
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Heart transplant; Nursing; Screening