Publications by authors named "Lena Spangenberg"
JAMA Netw Open
November 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how using small datasets to select an optimal cutoff score for the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) can lead to inaccurate results.
- Researchers evaluated whether data-driven methods for cutoff selection resulted in scores that were significantly different from the true population optimal score and if these methods produced biased accuracy estimates.
- Findings showed that many small studies frequently failed to identify the correct optimal cutoff score, particularly in smaller samples, leading to an overestimation of test sensitivity.
Article Synopsis
- - The PHQ-9 is a 9-question tool for identifying and assessing the severity of depression, while the shorter PHQ-2 focuses on the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia and can serve as an initial screening step.
- - A study combining data from various sources aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the PHQ-2 alone and alongside the PHQ-9 in detecting major depression through comparisons with validated diagnostic interviews.
- - Results showed that the PHQ-2 has good sensitivity (91%) but lower specificity (67%) at a score cutoff of 2, with improved performance at a cutoff of 3, indicating it can effectively help in initial screenings for depression when used with interviews.
