Questionnaire
PHQ-9
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 · Depression severity scale
Nine items mapped to DSM depression criteria — the most-used depression severity instrument in primary care.
What it measures
Depression severity over the prior two weeks. Nine items rated 0–3 (not at all → nearly every day). Total 0–27. Mapped directly to DSM-5 major depressive disorder criteria.
Mechanism
Why moving this marker matters
Depression independently associates with cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and reduced healthspan. Self-administered severity tracking enables both detection and longitudinal monitoring during treatment.
Guideline targets
What major guidelines recommend
Kroenke 2001 validation (clinical threshold)
≥10 — warrant clinical evaluation
How to measure
The test, where to get it, when to repeat
Method
Self-administered, 2–3 minutes. Rates frequency of nine symptoms over the prior two weeks.
Where
Public domain. Standard in primary care, psychology, and psychiatry practice.
Typical cost
Free.
Fasting
Not required
When to test
USPSTF 2023
Recommends screening for depression in all adults; instruments like PHQ-9 are the standard tool.
Where to score
Completing this questionnaire
Self-administered — your GP or mental-health professional can confirm scoring and discuss results.
The instrument
Items shown for reference
Validated questionnaires are shown here as reference. Read each item and count your own answers — Healicus does not compute or store a score. This keeps the page on the educational side of the EU MDR line; the instrument itself remains the validated tool.
- 1
Little interest or pleasure in doing things
0 (not at all) — 3 (nearly every day)
- 2
Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
0 — 3
- 3
Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
0 — 3
- 4
Feeling tired or having little energy
0 — 3
- 5
Poor appetite or overeating
0 — 3
- 6
Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
0 — 3
- 7
Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading or watching television
0 — 3
- 8
Moving or speaking so slowly that others could have noticed, or the opposite — being fidgety or restless
0 — 3
- 9
Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way
0 — 3
Scoring (do this yourself)
Sum the nine items. Per Kroenke 2001: 0–4 minimal; 5–9 mild; 10–14 moderate; 15–19 moderately severe; 20–27 severe. A score of 10 or more is the conventional threshold for clinical evaluation. CRITICAL: Any non-zero answer to item 9 (thoughts of self-harm) warrants immediate clinical attention regardless of total score — call a crisis line or your physician now. In the UK: Samaritans 116 123. In Germany: Telefonseelsorge 0800 1110111. In the US: 988.
If you prefer an interactive calculator, the published MDCalc tool is available here ↗ — operated and maintained by a third party.
Context
Reading the numbers
PHQ-9 is a screening and severity-tracking instrument, not a stand-alone diagnostic tool. Diagnosis requires clinical assessment.
Caveats
Cultural and language factors affect symptom reporting. Repeat with the same physician for trend tracking rather than comparing absolute scores across providers.
Take to your physician
Worth discussing
- If your score is ≥10, scheduling a clinical evaluation soon.
- If item 9 is non-zero, talk to a clinician today.
- Whether your symptoms align with depression vs anxiety vs both.
Sources
Cited literature
Edited by Carl Pöhl, MD · Healicus editorial
Last reviewed May 2026
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