Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7)

Clinical intent

This easy-to-use self-administered patient questionnaire is used as a screening tool and severity measure for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) [1,2].

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-7 total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 21.

Clinical interpretation

Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater.

Using the threshold score of 10, the GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for GAD. It is moderately good at screening three other common anxiety disorders - panic disorder (sensitivity 74%, specificity 81%), social anxiety disorder (sensitivity 72%, specificity 80%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (sensitivity 66%, specificity 81%).[3]

References

[1] Swinson RP; The GAD-7 scale was accurate for diagnosing generalised anxiety disorder. Evid Based Med. 2006 Dec 11(6):184. [2] Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, et al; A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22 166(10):1092-7. [3] Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, et al; Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Mar 6 146(5):317-25.