Depressive and anxiety disorders in chronic hepatitis C patients: reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire.

UNLABELLED: Depression and anxiety in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection influence their health-related quality of life and their adherence to antiviral treatment. OBJECTIVE: To study the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) as a screening instrument for depression and anxiety in HCV patients. METHODS: Criterion validity, using the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV-Axis I (SCID-I) to diagnose depression and anxiety disorders as diagnostic standard, was evaluated for both summed and algorithm-based PHQ in 500 HCV patients. Correlations with quality of life (Short-Form-36 Health Survey; SF-36) and severity of illness (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HADS) were calculated to assess construct validity. Test-retest reliability and patients' reaction to the PHQ were assessed in 120 HCV patients. RESULTS: Twenty-three percent of patients (N=114) had a psychiatric disorder (any depressive disorder=18.2%; major depressive disorder=6.4%; generalized anxiety disorder=7.0% and panic disorder=5.8%). The questionnaire demonstrated good test-retest reliability for any depressive disorder (k=.847), major depressive disorder (k=.784), generalized anxiety disorder (k=.787), panic disorder (k=.848), and for any psychiatric disorder (k=.847). There was good agreement between PHQ and SCID-I diagnoses (for any PHQ disorder, k=.821; overall accuracy=90.43%, sensitivity=83.84%; specificity=97.01%). Patients with any PHQ disorder had higher impairment on the SF-36 (p<.001). HADS depression and anxiety scores showed high correlations with PHQ depression (p<.001) and anxiety (p<.001) scores respectively. PHQ administration was well accepted by 97% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the PHQ is a reliable, valid, and useful screening instrument to detect depression, generalized anxiety and panic disorders in HCV patients.

De novo depression and anxiety disorders and influence on adherence during peginterferon-alpha-2a and ribavirin treatment in patients with hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety have been associated with interferon treatment and low treatment adherence. AIM: To study the incidence and associated risk factors of depressive and anxiety disorders during pegylated interferon plus ribavirin and treatment adherence in a prospective cohort of 176 patients with chronic hepatitis C patients. METHODS: Patients were interviewed at baseline using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Mental Disorders and the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were completed. Both questionnaires were completed also after 4, 12 and 24 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: De novo depressive and/or anxiety disorders were diagnosed in 53 (36%) patients, in whom antidepressants and/or anxiolytics were administered. Higher baseline depression-subscale score (OR = 27.8, 95% CI = 2.82-333), primary education level (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.40-7.03) and being an immigrant (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.12-9.47) were predictors of psychiatric disorders during anti-viral therapy. The percentage of patients with good adherence was lower in those with depression and/or anxiety (79% vs. 90%, P < 0.04). Only one patient (1%) discontinued treatment because of a major depressive episode. Depression and/or anxiety disorders had no effect on attainment of sustained virological response. CONCLUSION: Early detection and treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders favours good adherence to anti-viral treatment in hepatitis C.

Situación actual de la hipocondría / Current situation of hypochondria

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Validation and utility of the patient health questionnaire in diagnosing mental disorders in 1003 general hospital Spanish inpatients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Spanish version of the patient health questionnaire (PHQ) has validity and utility for diagnosing mental disorders in general hospital inpatients. METHODS: Participants in the study were 1003 general hospital inpatients, randomly selected from all admissions over an 18-month period. All of them completed the PHQ, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and measures of functional status, disability days, and health care use, including length of hospital stay. They also had a structured interview with a mental health professional. RESULTS: A total of 416 (42%) of the 1003 general hospital inpatients had a PHQ diagnosis. There was good agreement between PHQ diagnoses and those of an independent mental health professional (for the diagnosis of any PHQ disorder, kappa = 0.74; overall accuracy, 88%; sensitivity, 87%; specificity, 88%), similar to the original English version of the PHQ in primary care patients. Patients with PHQ diagnoses had more functional impairment, disability days, and health care use than did patients without PHQ diagnoses (group main effects for functional status measures and disability days, p < .001; group main effects for health care use, p < .01). The group main effect for hospital length of stay was not significant. An index of depression symptom severity calculated from the PHQ correlated significantly both with the number of depressive symptoms detected at interview and the total BDI score. PHQ administration was well accepted by patients. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the PHQ has diagnostic validity in general hospital inpatients comparable to the original English version in primary care.