Screening Accuracy of Reduced Scales PHQ and GAD in Young People Living in Deprived Urban Areas in Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Lima

Niño-Torres D.; Gomez-Restrepo C.; Diez-Canseco F.; Ignacio Brusco L.; Stanislaus Sureshkumar D.; Rodríguez-Romero V.; Vilela-Estrada A.L.; Luis Carbonetti F.; Uribe-Restrepo J.M.; Toyama M.; Olivar N.; Fung C.; Priebe S. · Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatria (2025) · DOI: 10.1016/j.rcp.2025.08.007

Resumen

Objective To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-3, PHQ-2, GAD-3, and GAD-2 in young people from deprived urban areas in Bogotá, Buenos Aires, and Lima for early depression and anxiety detection. Methods Adolescents (15–16 years) and young adults (20–24 years) from low-income neighborhoods in these cities were recruited. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were assessed at different cut-off points. A ROC curve analysis was performed, obtaining the AUC with 95% CI using PHQ-8 and GAD-7 (cut-off ≥10) as references. The Youden index identified optimal cut-off points. Results Two thousand four hundred two individuals completed PHQ-8 and GAD-7; 45.0% were adolescents, 55.0% young adults. Depression symptoms were present in 53.0% and anxiety in 40.9%. AUC values were 0.96 (PHQ-3) and 0.91 (PHQ-2). Optimal cut-offs: PHQ-3 ≥4 (sensitivity 91%, specificity 87%), PHQ-2 ≥3 (sensitivity 79%, specificity 90%), GAD-3 ≥4 (sensitivity 94%, specificity 78%), and GAD-2 ≥3 (sensitivity 76%, specificity 91%). Conclusions PHQ-3 and GAD-3 scales demonstrate acceptable discriminative ability for screening depression and anxiety in young people living in deprived urban areas of the studied cities. Then, their three-item format allows for symptom screening with a shorter response time.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia