Implications of two-stage depression screening for identifying persons with thoughts of self-harm☆

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Gen Hosp Psychiatry
• Personal Author:
  Pratt, Laura A. ; Brody, Debra J.
• Description:
  Objective
  
  Persons with thoughts of self-harm may need evaluation for suicide risk. We examine the prevalence of thoughts of self-harm and whether persons with thoughts of self-harm are identified when two-stage depression screening is used.
  
  Methods
  
  Data are from the 2005–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Persons responding positively to question nine of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are identified as having thoughts of self-harm. We compare two depression cutoff scores for the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) to see what percentage of persons with thoughts of self-harm would be identified as needing further screening with the PHQ-9.
  
  Results
  
  The prevalence of thoughts of self-harm was 3.5%. Persons 12–17 years old, poor and reporting fair or poor health were more likely to report thoughts of self-harm. A cutoff score of three on the PHQ-2 identified 49% of persons with thoughts of self-harm for further screening with the PHQ-9. A cut point of two increased the proportion of persons with thoughts of self-harm continuing for further screening to 76%.
  
  Conclusions
  
  Using a lower cutoff score, two, the PHQ-2 captures more persons with thoughts of self-harm. One quarter of persons with self-harm thoughts may not be identified for further screening when two-stage screening is used.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Child Depressive Disorder Female Humans Male Mass Screening Middle Aged Nutrition Surveys Risk Assessment Self-Injurious Behavior Suicidal Ideation Suicide Prevention Surveys And Questionnaires Young Adult

  More +
• Keywords:
  Depression NHANES PHQ-9 Screening Self-harm
• Source:
  Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 36(1):119-123
• Pubmed ID:
  24183490
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5942185
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:8f8611ba1753bf7d97e96430577cf2502c829e6fd3a577a99fe0e75c37bc37fd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/53979/cdc_53979_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 318.35 KB ]