A study of the diagnostic accuracy of the PHQ-9 in primary care elderly

BMC Primary Care

Table 1 Demographic and health characteristics of participants at enrollment (N = 71)

Characteristic
Age, years, mean ± SD*	78 ± 7
Female, %	62
Non-white, %	32
High school graduate, %	82
Chronic medical conditions
Mean ± SD	2.3 ± 1.5
Median (interquartile range)	2 (2)
Three or more chronic medical conditions, %	42
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Score, mean ± SD	5.9 ± 6.1
Score ≥10, %^†	23 (16/71)
Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)
Score, mean ± SD	1.2 ± 1.6
Score ≥3, %^‡	20 (14/71)
15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
Score, mean ± SD	5.8 ± 1.8
Score >5, %^§	48 (33/69)
Structured Clinical Interview for Depression (SCID)
Major depression, %	12 (8/69)
Minor depression, %	13 (9/69)

* SD = standard deviation.
^† Scores of 10 or greater on the PHQ-9 suggest likely major depression in general medical populations [18].
^‡ Scores of 3 or greater on the PHQ-2 suggest possible depression in adults in primary care and obstetrics-gynecology settings [33].
^§ Scores greater than 5 on the 15-item GDS suggest major depression in older adults in primary care [17].

ISSN: 2731-4553