Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)

## Summary: The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a brief self-administered questionnaire designed to assess the presence and severity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It consists of seven items that patients must respond to based on their experiences over the last two weeks. Each item is scored on a scale from 0 to 3, with a total possible score ranging from 0 to 21, where higher scores indicate greater anxiety. It is widely used in both clinical practice and research to screen for GAD and to monitor treatment progress.

## Administration Instructions: To administer the GAD-7, provide the patient with the questionnaire and ask them to read each statement carefully. Patients should circle one response for each item to indicate how much they have been bothered by the specified problem in the past two weeks. Response options range from "not at all" to "nearly every day."

## Scoring Methodology: - Assign scores to the responses as follows: - 0 for "not at all" - 1 for "several days" - 2 for "more than half the days" - 3 for "nearly every day" - Calculate the total score by summing the points for all seven items. The total score will range from 0 to 21. - Interpret the total score using the following scale: - 0–4: minimal anxiety - 5–9: mild anxiety - 10–14: moderate anxiety - 15–21: severe anxiety Also, assess the impact of the problems on the patient's daily living by asking the difficulty they have experienced in work, home management, or social interaction due to these problems, with response options ranging from "not difficult at all" to "extremely difficult."

## Citations and Authors: - Robert L. Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B.W. Williams, and Bernd Löwe - Citation: Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, Löwe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1092-1097

Please verify