• Adrienne J Means-Christensen, Cathy D Sherbourne, Peter P Roy-Byrne, Michelle G Craske, and Murray B Stein.
• Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093-0985, USA.
• Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2006 Mar 1; 28 (2): 108-18.

ObjectivePrimary care providers are increasingly taking on the role of ad hoc mental health provider. However, before patients in primary care can be treated, they must be identified. This study set out to validate a very brief screening instrument for identifying primary care patients with anxiety and depression.MethodEight hundred one primary care patients completed a questionnaire screening for (1) panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social phobia, or (2) panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depression. Screening was followed by a diagnostic interview. The properties of the questionnaires were examined to identify a small set of items that effectively and efficiently screened for panic disorder, PTSD, social phobia, GAD and depression.ResultsFive items were selected across the two versions of the questionnaire, comprising the Anxiety and Depression Detector (the ADD). The sensitivities for the items ranged from 0.62 to 1.00, and the specificity values ranged from 0.56 to 0.83. When a "yes" answer to any of the screening questions was used to predict the presence of any diagnosis, sensitivity values were 0.92 to 0.96 and specificity values were 0.57 to 0.82. Sensitivity and specificity values varied little by gender, age or ethnicity.ConclusionsThe five items of the ADD appear to comprise a useful screening device for anxiety and depressive disorders in primary care settings.

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