Spitzer et al developed the GAD-7, a 7 item instrument for measuring generalized anxiety disorder. The authors are from the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, Indiana University and the University of Heidelberg.
Symptoms:
(1) feeling nervous, anxious or on edge
(2) not being able to stop or to control worrying
(3) worrying too much about different things
(4) trouble relaxing
(5) being so restless that it is hard to sit still
(6) becoming easily annoyed or irritable
(7) feeling afraid as if something awful may happen
Response for Past 2 Weeks |
Points |
not at all |
0 |
several days |
1 |
more than half of the days |
2 |
nearly every day |
3 |
total score =
= SUM(points for all items)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 21
• The higher the score the greater the level of generalized anxiety.
• A total score >= 10 had the highest Youden score.
Total Score |
Severity of Anxiety |
0 to 4 |
minimal |
5 to 9 |
mild |
10 to 14 |
moderate |
15 to 21 |
severe |
Performance at the cutoff >= 10:
• The sensitivity was 89% and specificity 82%
• The positive predictive value was 29% while the negative predictive value was 99%
In addition, a patient indicates how much the anxiety has impaired usual activities or interaction with others:
(1) not at all
(2) somewhat
(3) very much
(4) extreme
Purpose: To evaluate a patient for generalized anxiety using the GAD-7 instrument of Spitzer et al.
Specialty: Psychiatry
Objective: other testing
ICD-10: F41.1,