Analysis

The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms (PHQ-SADS) is a comprehensive psychometric tool that combines elements from the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PHQ-15 to assess depression, anxiety, and somatoform symptoms. It was designed to provide an overall picture of patients’ mental health, taking into account the complexity of symptoms associated with mental disorders.

Objective

The purpose of the questionnaire is to provide clinicians with a tool that can be used for the simultaneous assessment of somatoform, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. This facilitates the recognition of comorbidities and the development of comprehensive treatment plans.

Scoring

The PHQ-SADS includes:
PHQ-9: Assesses depression based on 9 questions.
GAD-7: Assesses generalized anxiety based on 7 questions.
PHQ-15: Assesses somatoform disorders based on 15 questions.
Each question is scored on a Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) for depressive and anxiety symptoms, and from 0 (not at all bothersome) to 2 (very bothersome) for somatoform symptoms.

References

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613.
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097.
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2010). The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptom Scales: a systematic review. General Hospital Psychiatry, 32(4), 345-359.