Epidemiological evaluation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 in a pregnant population

Richelle Vlenterie; Hilde W P van Ras; Nel Roeleveld; Monica Pop-Purceleanu; Marleen M H J van Gelder

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.08.008

Epidemiological evaluation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 in a pregnant population

J Psychosom Res. 2017 Oct:101:96-103. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.08.008. Epub 2017 Aug 5.

Authors

Richelle Vlenterie¹, Hilde W P van Ras², Nel Roeleveld³, Monica Pop-Purceleanu⁴, Marleen M H J van Gelder⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Richelle.Vlenterie@radboudumc.nl.
² Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
³ Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Radboudumc Amalia Children's Hospital, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Nel.Roeleveld@radboudumc.nl.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Radboud university medical center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Monica.Pop-Purceleanu@radboudumc.nl.
⁵ Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud REshape Innovation Center, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Marleen.vanGelder@radboudumc.nl.

PMID: 28867428
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.08.008

Abstract

Introduction: The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) is a commonly used 2-item screening tool for depressive symptoms among pregnant women in primary care settings. However, its validity has not been assessed for large-scale epidemiological studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide an epidemiological evaluation of the PHQ-2 among pregnant women.

Method: A total of 3033 pregnant women participating in the PRegnancy and Infant DEvelopment Study completed the PHQ-2 as well as the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Depression (HADS-D) or the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) three times throughout pregnancy. The validity of the PHQ-2 was assessed with the HADS-D/EDS as reference standard.

Results: Sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-2 were 69-84% and 79-84%, respectively. The positive predictive values (range 19-26%) were substantially lower than the negative predictive values (96-99%).

Conclusion: Despite the relatively high number of false-positive screens, initial screening for depression by two questions only may enhance routine evaluation of depressive symptoms among pregnant women.

Keywords: Depression; PHQ-2; Pregnancy; Screening tool.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Epidemiologic Methods
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Mass Screening / methods*
Patient Health Questionnaire / statistics & numerical data*
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women