Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-2)

Clinical intent

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

Calculation

This is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 to the response categories, respectively, of “not at all”, “several days”, “more than half the days”, and “nearly every day”. GAD-2 total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 6.

Clinical interpretation

Scores of 1, 3, and 5 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively.

A score of 3 points is the preferred cut-off for identifying possible cases and in which further diagnostic evaluation for generalized anxiety disorder is warranted. Using a cut-off of 3 the GAD-2 has a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 83% for diagnosis generalized anxiety disorder.

References

[1] Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, Monahan PO, Löwe B. Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:317-25.