Open AccessProfiles of depression in a treatment‐seeking Hispanic population: Psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9
Author(s) -
Killian Michael O.,
Sanchez Katherine,
Eghaneyan Brittany H.,
Cabassa Leopoldo J.,
Trivedi Madhukar H.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of methods in psychiatric research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.275
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1557-0657
pISSN - 1049-8931
DOI - 10.1002/mpr.1851
Subject(s) - patient health questionnaire , somatization , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , medicine , confirmatory factor analysis , population , primary care , psychological intervention , psychiatry , major depressive disorder , mental health , depressive symptoms , anxiety , family medicine , structural equation modeling , environmental health , mood , statistics , mathematics , economics , macroeconomics
Objectives Screening instruments can be powerful tools in assisting primary care providers with detecting depression in their patients and monitoring treatment response. Health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities result from inaccurate assessment in primary care. Methods The current study used baseline data from two federally funded research studies of treatment for depression among Hispanics in primary care. The Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9) was administered at baseline prior to the study interventions, and 499 participants provided responses. Results Confirmatory factor analyses found excellent factor validity for the PHQ‐9, yet reliability remained poor. Possible heterogeneity in depressive item scores was examined, and latent profile analysis identified four distinct profiles of PHQ‐9 responses. Profiles included a lower depression, moderate/somatization, moderate/negative self‐view, and severe depression profiles. Results indicate modest support for the PHQ‐9 and its use among Hispanics for the purpose of depression screening. Conclusion Capturing four profiles of depression in a large primary care sample helps characterize the manifestation of depression in a Hispanic population. The single item related to fatigue had the greatest variation across groups indicating it might be useful as a screening item. Inadequate evaluation of symptoms could lead to significant under identification of the disorder among Hispanics.