Validation of the GAD-7 (Malay version) among women attending a primary care clinic in Malaysia

84Citations
Citations of this article
170Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety is a common mental health disorder in primary care, with a higher prevalence among women compared to men. Aim: This is the first study to validate the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire (GAD-7) as a case-finding instrument for anxiety in a primary care setting in Malaysia. The objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Malay version of the GAD-7 in detecting anxiety among women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a government-funded primary care clinic in Malaysia. Consecutive women participants attending the clinic during data collection were given self-administered questionnaires including the GAD-7 (Malay version). Participants then were selected using systematic weighted random sampling for Composite International Diagnostic Interviews (CIDI). The GAD-7 was validated against the CIDI reference standard. Results: The response rate was 87.5% for the questionnaire completion (895/1023), and 96.8% for diagnostic interviews (151/156). The prevalence of anxiety was 7.8%. The GAD-7 had a sensitivity of 76% (95% CI61%-87%), a specificity of 94% (88%-97%), positive LR 13.7 (6.2-30.5) and negative LR 0.25 (0.14-0.45). Discussion: The Malay version of the GAD-7 was found to be valid and reliable in case-finding for anxiety in this study. Due to its brevity, it is a suitable case-finding instrument for detecting anxiety in primary care settings in Malaysia.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Sidik, S. M., Arroll, B., & Goodyear-Smith, F. (2012). Validation of the GAD-7 (Malay version) among women attending a primary care clinic in Malaysia. Journal of Primary Health Care, 4(1), 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1071/hc12005

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free