What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to evaluate the agreement among different versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) for assessing depression symptoms.

May 7, 2026Scientific Reports0 citationsOpen Access

Agreement among brief patient health questionnaire (PHQ) versions for measuring symptoms of depression in the Brazilian national health survey (PNS)

LOLeidiane Rafaela Fernandes de OliveiraUniversidade Federal de Ouro Preto BBBruna Carolina Rafael BarbosaUniversidade Federal de Ouro Preto MVMariana Cassemira Aparecida VidigalUniversidade Federal de Ouro Preto

Key Points

This research aims to evaluate the agreement among different versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) for assessing depression symptoms.
Utilized PHQ-8, PHQ-9, and PHQ-2 versions to assess depression symptoms.
Conducted a national health survey in Brazil.
Analyzed psychometric properties and agreement rates of the PHQ versions.
PHQ-8 demonstrated a psychometric equivalence to PHQ-9 (correlation coefficient = 0.71).
PHQ-2 proved to be a reliable tool for rapid screening of depression.
Discrepancies noted between questionnaire results and formal diagnoses reveal barriers to accessing mental healthcare.

Abstract

= 0.71). The PHQ-8 is a psychometrically equivalent alternative to the PHQ-9 in Brazil, and the PHQ-2 is a reliable, ultra-brief tool ideal for rapid, large-scale population screening. While these scales accurately capture symptom burden, the observed discrepancies with formal diagnosis highlight significant systemic barriers to mental healthcare access for vulnerable subgroups.

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