Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale
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Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
Not being able to stop or control worrying Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
Worrying too much about different things Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
Having trouble relaxing Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
Being so restless that it is hard to sit still Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
Becoming easily annoyed or irritable Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen Not at all Several days More than half the days Nearly every day
R e s u l t s
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GAD-7 scale score
 
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale is a useful screening tool for all 4 anxiety disorders.

The 4 Anxiety Disorders are:

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • Panic Disorder
  • Social Anxiety Disorder
  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

In one study, almost 20% of patients coming to a primary care clinic had at least 1 anxiety disorder, of which 41% were not receiving any treatment.

The GAD-7 has high sensitivity and specificity for detecting presence of one of these anxiety disorders and has been shown useful in detection of these in the primary care setting.

The GAD-7 Scale consists of 7 questions, each of which can receive a score from 0 to 3; corresponding to a summed possible score range of 0-21.

The patient is asked "Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?"

The 7 questions are:

  1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge
  2. Not being able to stop or control worrying
  3. Worrying too much about different things
  4. Having trouble relaxing
  5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
  6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
  7. Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen

Each of the 7 questions is scored as:

  • 0 pts "Not at all"
  • 1 pt--"Several days"
  • 2 pts "More than half the days"
  • 3 pts "Nearly every day"

Interpretation (points from all 7 questions are summed):

Points Interpretation

  • <5 -- No evidence of anxiety disorder
  • 5-9 -- Mild anxiety symptoms
  • 10-14 -- Moderate anxiety symptoms
  • >=15 -- Severe Anxiety symptoms

A cutoff score of 10 optimized sensitivity and specificity (89% and 82% respectively) in one large trial.--The average patient diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder had a score of 14.4 while those without this diagnosis had an average score of 4.9.

Reference:

  • Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, et al. Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146(5):317-25.
  • Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, et al. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(10):1092-7.