Using the distress thermometer and hospital anxiety and depression scale to screen for psychosocial morbidity in patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer

作者：Patel Deepa^*; Sharpe Louise; Thewes Belinda; Bell Melanie L; Clarke Stephen

来源：Journal of Affective Disorders, 2011, 131(1-3): 412-416.

DOI：10.1016/j.jad.2010.11.014

• Cancer
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Screening
• Distress thermometer
• Psychological disorder

Background: The Distress Thermometer (DT) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale CHAOS) are commonly used within oncology settings. However there is a paucity of research comparing these measures to gold standard structured clinical interviews assessing for clinical disorders. The aim of this study is to establish the sensitivity, specificity and optimal cut-off scores on these measures when compared to a clinical interview.
Method: Ninety-nine patients with colorectal cancer completed the DT and HADS and a psychologist-administered gold standard structured clinical interview (the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-CIDI). Receiver Operator Characteristic analyses (ROC) were conducted to establish the optimal cut-off score on the DT and HADS to identify clinical disorders based on the CIDI.
Results: Seventeen patients met criteria for a clinical disorder in the sample. A cut-off score of 4 on the DT indicated acceptable sensitivity (60%) and specificity (67%) to detect a current clinical disorder, while the optimal cut-off for the HADS was 10 (sensitivity = 73%, specificity = 72%). The area under the ROC values were 0.66 for the DT (95% CI: 0.51, 0.82) and 0.78 for the HADS (95%CI: 0.67,0.90). The difference in AUC between the two measures was not statistically significant Limitations: The limitations to the design and methodology of the study are discussed.
Conclusion: The single item DT performed fairly, however not as well as the longer HADS in identifying clinical disorders amongst oncology patients, particularly anxiety disorders.

• 出版日期2011-6