ArticleBMC psychiatry2021
Screening male prisoners for depression and anxiety with the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 at NHS Healthcheck: patterns of symptoms and caseness threshold.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Association between NHHR and depression symptoms among U.S. adults with hypertension: a cross sectional.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Article
- Mental Health Screening in Prison: Psychometric Evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Among Incarcerated Men in Mexico.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- A dual-stream temporal attention LSTM with visual feature enhancement for depression screening in incarcerated populations.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of mental health symptoms of individuals in different detention settings: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Pre-Incarceration Healthcare Use and Access Barriers among Men with HIV and those at-Risk for Contracting HIV: A Case Study of an Urban Jail.AIDS and behavior · 2025Article
- Prevalence of anxiety symptoms, depression and temporomandibular dysfunction in prisoners and workers from a brazilian prison: an observational study.African health sciences · 2025Observational
- The relationship between nature exposure and depression among Chinese prisoners: a moderated mediation model.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Fear of COVID-19, Mental Health and Resilient Coping in Young Adult Male Inmates: A Portuguese Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- "It was terrible, I didn't sleep for two years": A mixed methods exploration of sleep and its effects among family caregivers of in-home hospice patients at end-of-life.Palliative medicine · 2022Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundScreening for depression and anxiety disorders has been proposed in prison populations but little is known about caseness thresholds on commonly used self-report measures in relation to core symptoms, risk factors and symptom patterns.
methodA cross-sectional prevalence survey measured depression and anxiety caseness (threshold scores > 10 and > 15 on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 and diagnostic algorithm on PHQ-9) in 1205 male prisoners aged 35-74 years eligible for an NHS Healthcheck from six English prisons. Caseness scores were compared with the presence or absence of daily core symptoms of depression and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), demographic, prison and cardiovascular risk factors. Cluster analysis was applied to PHQ-9 and GAD-7 items in prisoners scoring > 10 on PHQ-9.
results453(37.6%) and 249(20.7%) prisoners scored > 10 and > 15 respectively on PHQ-9; 216 (17.9%) had a depressive episode on the PHQ-9 algorithm; 378(31.4%) and 217(18.0%) scored > 10 and > 15 on GAD-7 respectively. Daily core items for depression were scored in 232(56.2%) and 139(74.3%) prisoners reaching > 10 and > 15 respectively on PHQ-9; daily core anxiety items in 282(74.9%) and 179(96.3%) reaching > 10 and > 15 on GAD-7. Young age, prison and previous high alcohol intake were associated with > 15 on the PHQ-9. Cluster analysis showed a cluster with core symptoms of depression, slowness, restlessness, suicidality, poor concentration, irritability or fear. Altered appetite, poor sleep, lack of energy, guilt or worthlessness belonged to other clusters and may not be indicative of depression.
conclusionsIn male prisoners > 35 years, a score of > 10 on the PHQ-9 over diagnoses depressive episodes but a score of > 10 on the GAD-7 may detect cases of GAD more efficiently. Further research utilising standardised psychiatric interviews is required to determine whether the diagnostic algorithm, a higher cut-off on the PHQ-9 or the profile of symptoms on the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 used singly or in combination may be used to screen depressive episodes efficiently in prisoners.
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