BACKGROUND The Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-9 is a widely used instrument to screen for depression in clinical research. The first aim of this study was to psychometrically test the PHQ-9 in a large sample of cancer patients. The second aim was to calculate unbiased estimates of the depression burden for several cancer groups taking into account age and gender distributions. METHODS A sam...

BACKGROUND Our purpose was to examine the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) in Taiwan, and to explore its relation to somatoform disorders (DSM-IV) and to somatic symptom and related disorders (DSM-5). METHODS We recruited 471 individuals, 151 with somatoform disorders and 200 with somatic symptom and related disorders. Subjects co...

INTRODUCTION Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and a leading cause of disability worldwide. It constitutes a serious public health problem, particularly among elderly individuals. Most depressed elderly patients are treated by primary care (PC) physicians. The "Patient Health Questionnaire" (PHQ-2) is an instrument used for the detection of depression in PC settings. OBJEC...

Background Cognitive dysfunction is a predominant symptom of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), contributing to functional impairment. Objective The primary objective of this study was to assess and describe perceived cognitive dysfunction amongst Asian patients diagnosed with MDD. The secondary objective was to explore the associations between depression severity, perceived cognitive dysfuncti...

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to establish provisional psychiatric diagnoses using the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and to describe family practitioner (FP) case recognition, survey-day prescription of anxiolytic and antidepressant medications and overall consumption rates (medication use). METHODS Between October 2003 and April...

OBJECTIVE We conducted this cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between stage of diabetic nephropathy and likelihood or severity of depression in patients with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 2212 patients with diabetes (mean age 60.9 years; 928 women; 1838 patients with type 2 diabetes). Presence and severity of depression was examined using the Patient Hea...

BACKGROUND Psychological disorders including depression and anxiety are not rare in primary care clinics. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a clinical diagnostic tool that is widely utilized by primary health care physicians worldwide because it provides a practical in-clinic tool to screen for psychological disorders. This study evaluated the validity of the Arabic version of the PHQ i...

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impairs physical status and impacts on mental health. This prospective study was designed to assess associations between mental health and systemic biomarkers, and their combined relationship with long-term survival in stable severe COPD. METHODS Forty-five patients with severe but stable COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 s of 29.8 (qu...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of depressive symptoms, diabetes self-management, and quality of life in people with diabetes and foot ulcers. Ulcer status, mortality and amputations were also assessed at six months follow-up. METHODS This was a cross-sectional survey of people attending outpatient podiatry clinics at a major tertiary referral hospital. Depr...

MENTAL DISORDERS IN PRImary care are common, disabling, costly, and treatable. However, they are frequently unrecognized and therefore not treated. Although there have been many screening instruments developed, PRIME-MD (Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders) was the first instrument designed for use in primary care that actually diagnoses specific disorders using diagnostic criteria from...