Assessing Depression and Anxiety in Patients

Patients completed the self-administered and validated German version of the HADS[19 (link)] The HADS measures depression and generalised anxiety in in- and outpatients and in community settings. It contains 14 statements describing symptoms of depression and anxiety (for example "I feel tense and irritable"). Response options for each question range from 0 to 3 and ask patients about their agreement with the statements or how often they apply (for example "most of the time, often, from time to time or not at al"). There are seven statements for each depression and anxiety. Domain scores range from 0 (no depression or anxiety) to 21 and following the standard convention scores ≥ 11 indicate a probable clinical diagnosis of depression or anxiety.