GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7)

id

1727

full_title

GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7)

short_title

GAD-7

med_description

Measures severity of anxiety.

description

The GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7) measures severity of anxiety, mainly in outpatients.

keywords

Anxiety GAD screen, anxiety screening, anxiety score, anxiety calculator, rule out GAD, rule out anxiety, anxiety GAD, anxiety symptom, anxiety sx, anxious question calc, anxious questionnaire, anxious questions, general anxiety calc, general anxiety calculator, GAD-7, anxiety 7 questions, general anxiety disorder 7

complaint

[ "Anxious" ]

formula

0-21 score, with 0-3 points for each of seven questions.

evidence

Initially validated in 2149 patients as a diagnostic tool for GAD (cutoff score 10-> sensitivity 89%, specificity 82%, test-retest reliability with ICC=0.83) (Spitzer RL 2006), the GAD-7 was later also found to have reasonable sensitivity and specificity as a screener for panic disorder, social phobia and PTSD (cutoff score 8- sensitivity 77%, specificity 82%; cutoff score 10 - sensitivity 68% and specificity 88% for any anxiety disorder). (Kroenke K 2007)

measurements

[]

information

For all questions, answer with one of the following:

• Not at all = 0
• Several days = +1
• More than half the days = +2
• Nearly every day = +3

The last question of the GAD-7 is a good indicator of patient's global impairment, though not included in the final calculation of points.

refrences

{ "Clinical Practice Guidelines": [ { "href": "", "text": "" } ], "Manufacturer Website": [ { "href": "", "text": "" } ], "Original/Primary Reference": [ { "href": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16717171", "text": "Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Löwe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7." } ], "Other References": [ { "href": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17339617", "text": "Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW, Monahan PO, Löwe B. Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med 2007;146:317- 325." } ], "Outcomes": [ { "href": "", "text": "" } ], "Validation": [ { "href": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20692043", "text": "Ruiz MA, Zamorano E, García-Campayo J, Pardo A, Freire O, Rejas J. Validity of the GAD-7 scale as an outcome measure of disability in patients with generalized anxiety disorders in primary care. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2011;128:277–286." } ], "Validations": [] }

pearls

• The GAD-7 is useful in primary care and mental health settings as a screening tool and symptom severity measure for the four most common anxiety disorders (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Phobia and PostTraumatic Stress Disorder).
• It is 70-90% sensitive and 80-90% specific across disorders / cutoffs (see Evidence section for more).
• Higher GAD-7 scores correlate with disability and functional impairment (in measures such as work productivity and health care utilization). (Spitzer RL 2006) (Ruiz MA 2011)
• The last item “How difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?” - although not used in the calculation - is a good indicator of the patient’s global impairment and can be used to track treatment response.

usecase

Rapid screening for the presence of a clinically significant anxiety disorder (GAD, PD, SP & PTSD), especially in outpatient settings.

reasons

Objectively determine initial symptoms severity and monitor symptom changes/effect of treatment over time.

next_advice

next_actions

• This tool should be used for screening and monitoring symptom severity and cannot replace a clinical assessment and diagnosis.
• Do not forget to rule out medical causes of anxiety before diagnosing an anxiety disorder (for example, EKG for arrhythmias, TSH for thyroid disease).

next_management

Scores ≥10: Further assessment (including diagnostic interview and mental status examination) and/or referral to a mental health professional recommended.

diseases

[ "Anxiety", "Depression/Suicidality" ]

instructions

published

2022-04-21T20:28:58.838Z

purpose

[ "Diagnosis" ]

search_terms

[ "gad", "anxious", "psych", "gad7", "gad-7" ]

seo

{ "keywords_en": "Anxiety GAD screen, anxiety screening, anxiety score, anxiety calculator, rule out GAD, rule out anxiety, anxiety GAD, anxiety symptom, anxiety sx, anxious question calc, anxious questionnaire, anxious questions, general anxiety calc, general anxiety calculator, GAD-7, anxiety 7 questions, general anxiety disorder 7", "meta_description_en": "The GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7) measures severity of anxiety, mainly in outpatients." }

specialty

[ "Family Practice", "Internal Medicine", "Primary Care", "Psychiatry" ]

departments

[ "Psychiatric" ]

tags

[]

version_number

1

versions

[]

related

[ { "calcId": 1843, "short_title_en": "Hamilton Anxiety Scale", "slug": "hamilton-anxiety-scale" }, { "calcId": 1845, "short_title_en": "QIDS", "slug": "quick-inventory-depressive-symptomatology-qids" }, { "calcId": 1725, "short_title_en": "PHQ-9", "slug": "phq9-patient-health-questionnaire9" } ]

ismed

true

section

[ "whenToUseViewed", "pearlsPitfallsViewed", "whyUseViewed", "nextStepsViewed", "evidenceViewed" ]

cleaned_departments

[ "psychiatry" ]

cleaned_use

[ "Rapid screening for the presence of a clinically significant anxiety disorder (GAD, PD, SP & PTSD), especially in outpatient settings." ]

pub

true