When arriving at the differential diagnosis, consider the following: ruling out medical conditions that require laboratory tests (e.g., thyroid stimulating hormone, Vitamin B12); other psychiatric syndrome; and medications that mimic mood disorders. Depression should not be diagnosed or excluded solely on the basis of a PHQ-9 score.

The PHQ-9 is the depression module, which scores each of the 9 DSM-IV criteria as “0” (not at all) to “3” (nearly every day). The items ask about: little interest or pleasure, feeling down or hopeless, sleep problems, low energy, poor appetite or overeating, feeling bad about oneself, trouble concentrating, psychomotor changes, and suicidal thoughts over the last 2 weeks. The questionnaire form presented in the article contains only these symptom items plus name and date fields; it does not include any questions about current medications or laboratory test results.

Use of the PHQ-9 in practice is as a screening and monitoring tool. The PHQ-9 does not diagnose depression on its own and does not replace a clinical interview or assessment of possible medical causes of symptoms.

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems? 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things; 2. Feeling down, depressed or hopeless; 3. Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much; 4. Feeling tired or having little energy; 5. Poor appetite or overeating; 6. Feeling bad about yourself…; 7. Trouble concentrating…; 8. Moving or speaking so slowly… or being so fidgety or restless…; 9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way. The PHQ-9 score is based solely on these symptom frequency responses. No part of the scoring table or questionnaire items asks about a patient’s medications or laboratory test results.

Major Depressive disorder is suggested if: 5–14 Mild major depressive disorder. Provider uses clinical judgement about treatment based on patient's duration of symptoms and functional impairment. Diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder or Other Depressive Disorder also require impairment of social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (Question #10) and ruling out normal bereavement, a history of Manic Episode (Bipolar Disorder), and a physical disorder, medication, or other drug as the biological cause of the depressive symptoms. This guidance shows medications and physical disorders are considered in clinical judgment and diagnostic work-up, but are not PHQ-9 questionnaire items or part of the PHQ-9 numerical score.

The PHQ 2 is a tool used to screen for depression, while the PHQ 9 tool is used to screen or diagnose depression, measure the severity of symptoms, and measure a patient’s response to treatment. Proposed Treatment Actions by PHQ 9 Score: 0–4 None–Minimal, 5–9 Mild, 10–14 Moderate, 15–19 Moderately Severe, 20–27 Severe, with corresponding suggestions such as counseling, pharmacotherapy or watchful waiting. All scoring and proposed actions are based on the summed responses to the nine symptom questions. There is no mention of incorporating current medications or laboratory test values into the PHQ-9 score itself.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is suggested if: Of the 9 items, 5 or more are checked as at least ‘more than half the days’ and either item 1 or 2 is checked as at least ‘more than half the days’. To score the instrument, tally the numbers of all the checked responses under each heading (not at all=0, several days=1, more than half the days=2, and nearly every day=3). Add the numbers together to total the score on the bottom of the questionnaire. The scoring instructions describe only symptom frequency ratings; they do not reference or incorporate a patient’s current medications or laboratory test results into the PHQ-9 score.

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item instrument for assessing depression commonly used in clinical and research settings. Each item asks how often, over the last two weeks, the person has experienced specific symptoms of depression, rated on a 4-point scale from 0 (“not at all”) to 3 (“nearly every day”).[5] The items correspond to core depressive symptoms; the description of the instrument and its item list does not include any consideration of the patient’s medication regimen or laboratory test values as part of the scoring or content of the nine items.[5]

In this validation study, the PHQ-9 is described as a self-report questionnaire that assesses levels of depression on nine key symptoms, each rated from 0 to 3 in the past two weeks.[18] It states: "Each of the nine questions of the PHQ-9 was evaluated on a 4-point rating scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day), summing up to a total PHQ-9 score per patient."[18] The methodology focuses solely on symptom ratings and diagnostic interviews; there is no indication that medication use or laboratory data are incorporated into the PHQ-9 item content or scoring algorithm.[18]

They incorporate DSM-IV depression criteria with other leading major depressive symptoms into a brief self-report instruments that are commonly used for screening and diagnosis, as well as selecting and monitoring treatment. The PHQ-2, comprising the first 2 items of the PHQ-9, inquires about depressed mood and anhedonia over the past two weeks. The description specifies the PHQ-9 as a self-report symptom questionnaire based on DSM-IV criteria; it does not indicate that medication regimens or laboratory test results are components of the instrument’s items or scoring.

Each item on the measure is rated on a 4-point scale (0=Not at all; 1=Several days; 2=More than half the days; and 3=Nearly every day). The total score can range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depression. The raw scores on the 9 items should be summed to obtain a total raw score and should be interpreted using the Interpretation Table for the PHQ-9 below. The DSM-5 Severity Measure for Depression (Adult), which is based on the PHQ-9, describes only symptom ratings and scoring procedures; it does not include any items about medication regimen, laboratory test results, or other clinical data in the measure itself.

Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams introduced the PHQ-9 as a brief depression severity measure and diagnostic instrument derived from the full PHQ, consisting of nine items that correspond to the DSM criteria for major depression.[6] The nine items, listed as 1) Little interest or pleasure in doing things, 2) Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless, 3) Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much, 4) Feeling tired or having little energy, 5) Poor appetite or overeating, 6) Feeling bad about yourself, 7) Trouble concentrating, 8) Moving or speaking slowly or being fidgety/restless, and 9) Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way, are all symptom-based questions.[6] The article’s description of the PHQ-9 instrument and scoring does not reference patient medications or laboratory test results as components of the assessment.[6]

The NIH FITBIR data dictionary entry for the "Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9)" describes it as a nine-item self-administered instrument for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression. It lists data elements corresponding to the nine symptom questions, each capturing how often specific problems have bothered the patient over the last two weeks, with standard response options from 0 to 3.[12] The form structure is limited to these symptom-report items and associated scores; medications, medical treatments, or laboratory values are not listed as variables within the PHQ-9 instrument itself in this standardized definition.[12]

Questions are about the level of interest/pleasure in doing things, feeling down or depressed, sleep-related problems, low energy or fatigue, eating problems, self-worth, ability to concentrate, psychomotor problems, and thoughts of suicide. The response to the tenth question is not factored into the final score; however, clinicians may use the response to help gauge the patient's level of impairment. The article explains the items and scoring of the PHQ-9 in terms of these symptom questions and an optional impairment question; it does not describe any items concerning current medications or laboratory tests as part of the questionnaire.

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a multiple-choice self-report inventory that is used as a screening and diagnostic tool for mental health disorders of depression, anxiety, alcohol, eating, and somatoform disorders. For the PHQ-9, discriminative validity is rated “too excellent,” with an average sensitivity of .77 and specificity of .94 in primary care settings. The PHQ instruments are described as self-report inventories capturing symptom information; there is no indication that they directly include questions about current pharmacologic treatments or laboratory data within the questionnaire items.

This is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3, to the response categories of “not at all,” “several days,” “more than half the days,” and “nearly every day,” respectively. PHQ-9 total score for the nine items ranges from 0 to 27. In the above case, the PHQ-9 depression severity score is 16 (3 items scored 1, 2 items scored 2, and 3 items scored 3). These instructions demonstrate that the PHQ-9 scoring is purely based on patient-reported symptom frequency and does not make use of information on current medications or laboratory test values.

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems? 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things; 2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless; 3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much; 4. Feeling tired or having little energy; 5. Poor appetite or overeating; 6. Feeling bad about yourself—or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down; 7. Trouble concentrating on things; 8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed, or being so fidgety or restless; 9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself. The reproduced PHQ-9 form here shows these nine symptom questions and a functional impairment question; no item asks about current medications or lab tests, and the scoring is based solely on symptom frequency.

Each response category of 'not at all', 'several days', 'more than half the days' and 'nearly every day' is assigned a score of 0, 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The total score is calculated by adding together the scores for the 9 questions. The final scores of 0–4, 5–9, 10–14, 15–19, 20–27 are the ranges for none, mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe, respectively. This description of the PHQ-9 tool from a clinical resource lists only symptom questions and scoring ranges; there is no mention of integrating current medication lists or laboratory test results into the questionnaire or its scoring.

The PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) is a validated tool used to screen for depression, determine severity, and monitor treatment response. It consists of 9 questions scored from 0 to 3, with a total score from 0 to 27. The calculator implementation asks for the patient’s responses to these nine symptom items and computes the score; it does not request or integrate information on current medications or laboratory test results into the PHQ-9 score.

Step 2: Add the total points for each of the columns 2-4 separately (Column 1 = Several days; Column 2 = More than half the days; Column 3 = Nearly every day). Add the totals for each of the three columns together. This is the Total Score. The Total Score = the Severity Score. The overview and scoring guide for the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) focus on symptom endorsement and functional impairment; they do not indicate that medication use or lab test results are part of the PHQ-9 items or scoring algorithm, although such factors may be considered separately in treatment recommendations.

Depression in adults: treatment and management states that the choice of treatment should consider patient preference, previous treatment response, comorbidities, and possible medication interactions; the PHQ-9 itself is used as part of assessment, not as a standalone test including labs or current medications.

The PHQ-9 is a self-report questionnaire used to screen and monitor depression. Guidance around it emphasizes clinical verification of responses and evaluation of other causes of symptoms, including medications and medical conditions.

The PHQ-9 asks patients to rate how often over the last 2 weeks they have been bothered by problems such as “Little interest or pleasure in doing things” and “Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless,” using a 0–3 scale. The nine items correspond to the DSM criteria for major depressive disorder and are summed to produce a severity score from 0 to 27. The item content is limited to self-reported depressive symptoms and does not include questions on current medications, laboratory test results, or other medical data; such information is typically gathered elsewhere in clinical assessment, not within the PHQ-9 itself.

Using PHQ-9 Diagnosis and Score for Initial Treatment: Step 1: Count each item in the column labeled "Several Days" and multiply by one. Step 2: Count each item in the column labeled "More than half the days" and multiply by two. Step 3: Count each item in the column labeled "Nearly every day" and multiply by three. Step 4: Add the totals for each of the three columns together. This is the SEVERITY SCORE. These scoring instructions show that only the frequency of depressive symptoms, as reported by the patient on the questionnaire, enters into the PHQ-9 severity score; there is no provision for incorporating medication regimens or lab test data into the score.

The ePROVIDE (MAPI) instrument page for the "Patient Health Questionnaire - 9-item (PHQ-9)" describes it as a nine-item depression module of the PHQ used for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression.[7] It notes that the PHQ-9 is based on the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder and references the original validation study by Kroenke et al. on its validity as a brief depression severity measure.[7] The instrument description focuses exclusively on nine symptom questions as the content of the scale and does not mention patient medications, medical treatments, or lab results as part of the questionnaire items.[7]

A sample PHQ-9 depression severity instrument embedded in an electronic health record was used to assess depression and suicide ideation across practices in the DARTNet network. The study focused on capturing PHQ-9 scores and linking them to other clinical data in the EHR to enhance measurement. The EHR integration demonstrates that PHQ-9 scores can be analyzed alongside medications and lab results, but the PHQ-9 instrument itself remains a nine-item symptom questionnaire and does not inherently include medication or laboratory test questions.

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) overview document explains that the PHQ-9 is a self-report version of the depression module of the full PHQ, consisting of nine items that correspond to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder.[13] It states that the PHQ-9 can be used for screening and measuring the severity of depression, with scores derived from the frequency of nine depressive symptoms experienced over the previous two weeks.[13] The overview and instrument description do not include any items assessing current medications or laboratory findings; such clinical information is discussed separately as part of overall patient evaluation rather than as part of the PHQ-9 questionnaire itself.[13]

PHQScreeners.com provides official versions of the PHQ-9 and related instruments for clinicians and researchers. The downloadable PHQ-9 forms list the nine symptom questions and an optional functional impairment question, reflecting DSM-IV depression criteria. These standardized forms do not contain fields asking about current medications or laboratory test results; such clinical information is gathered separately from the PHQ-9 screening tool.

The Patient Health Questionnaire – Depression (PHQ-9) is described as a self-report measure of depressive symptoms over the last two weeks, consisting of nine items scored from 0 (“not at all”) to 3 (“nearly every day”). The scoring and interpretation sections explain cut-offs for severity based on the summed symptom scores. The measure description does not include any content about recording or scoring current medications or laboratory tests as part of the PHQ-9.