Mental Fitness PHQ-2 Score

Mental Fitness

v2

Mental fitness is a category of health/wellness that encompasses both psychiatric aspects including depressive symptoms (e.g., pleasure or enjoyment, feelings of hope or lack thereof, altered behavior patterns) but also (mental) fatigue.

The PHQ-2 inquires about the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past two weeks. The PHQ-2 includes the first two items of the PHQ-9.

• The purpose of the PHQ-2 is to screen for depression in a “first-step” approach.

• Patients who screen positive should be further evaluated with the PHQ-9 to determine whether they meet criteria for a depressive disorder. 

• The PHQ-2 score ranges from 0-6

• Higher scores indicate higher potential for major depressive disorder

• A validation study with 2,642 patients indicated:

  • Sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-2 for diagnosing major depression were 86% and 78%, respectively, with a score of 2 or higher

  • Sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-2 for diagnosing major depression were 61% and 92% with a score 3 or higher

Arroll et al, “Validation of PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 to screen for major depression in the primary care population,” Ann Fam Med 8(4), 2010)