Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment flow

Introduction

This easy-to-use self-administered patient questionnaire is used as a screening tool and severity measure for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) [1,2].

The Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment flow contains the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) questionnaire and associated calculation. After form submission, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment calculation is executed automatically. It's easy to extend this flow with conditional logic based on the interpretation of the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment calculation.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) questionnaire

Interpretation

Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater.

Using the threshold score of 10, the GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for GAD. It is moderately good at screening three other common anxiety disorders - panic disorder (sensitivity 74%, specificity 81%), social anxiety disorder (sensitivity 72%, specificity 80%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (sensitivity 66%, specificity 81%).[3]

References

[1] Swinson RP; The GAD-7 scale was accurate for diagnosing generalised anxiety disorder. Evid Based Med. 2006 Dec 11(6):184.
[2] Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, et al; A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22 166(10):1092-7.
[3] Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, et al; Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Mar 6 146(5):317-25.