Validity/Reliability of PHQ-9 and PHQ-2 Depression Scales Among Adults Living with HIV/AIDS in Western Kenya

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Depression greatly burdens subSaharan Africa, especially populations living with HIV/ AIDS, for whom few validated depression scales exist. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a brief dualpurpose instrument yielding DSM-IV diagnoses and severity, and PHQ-2, an ultra-brief screening tool, offer advantages in resource-constrained settings. OBJECTIVE:To assess the validity/reliability of PHQ-9 and PHQ-2. DESIGN: Observational, two occasions 7 days apart.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 347 patients attending psychosocial support groups.MEASUREMENTS: Demographics, PHQ-9, PHQ-2, general health perception rating and CD4 count. RESULTS:Rates for PHQ-9 DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD), other depressive disorder (ODD) and any depressive disorder were 13%, 21% and 34%. Depression was associated with female gender, but not CD4. Construct validity was supported by: (1) a strong association between PHQ-9 and general health rating, (2) a single major factor with loadings exceeding 0.50, (3) item-total correlations exceeding 0.37 and (4) a pattern of item means similar to US validation studies. Four focus groups indicated culturally relevant content validity and minor modifications to the PHQ-9 instructions. Coefficient alpha was 0.78. Test-retest reliability was acceptable: (1) intraclass correlation 0.59 for PHQ-9 total score, (2) kappas 0.24, 0.25 and 0.38 for PHQ-9 MDD, ODD and any depressive disorder and (3) weighted kappa 0.53 for PHQ-9 depression severity categories. PHQ-2 ≥3 demonstrated high sensitivity (85%) and specificity (95%) for diagnosing any PHQ-9 depressive disorder (AUC, 0.97), and 91% and 77%, respectively, for diagnosing PHQ-9 MDD (AUC, 0.91). Psychometrics were also good within four gender/age (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35) subgroups.CONCLUSIONS: PHQ-9 and PHQ-2 appear valid/ reliable for assessing DSM-IV depressive disorders and depression severity among adults living with HIV/AIDS in western Kenya. INTRODUCTIONMore than 70% of all deaths attributable to HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 6.1% of adults living with HIV in Kenya in 2005 1 . The social, economic and health impact of depression in sub-Saharan Africa is also great, where depression is associated with mortality 2-5 , work disability 4-7 , lower quality of life 5,[8][9][10][11][12] , risk of heart disease 13 and high-risk behaviors for contracting HIV infection 14 . With one exception 15 , the sparse literature on depression among individuals living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa has shown elevated rates of depression relative to community samples 3,8,10,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] , consistent with western countries [26][27][28][29] . Thus, there is an urgency to incorporating mental health into HIV/ AIDS treatment programs in sub-Saharan Africa, including western Kenya [30][31][32][33][34][35] .Depression in sub-Saharan Africa presents in forms (culturespecific idioms, somatic, based on interpersonal relationships or spiritual in nature) that may o...

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