TY - JOUR
T1 - Generic effectiveness measures
T2 - Sensitivity to symptom change in anxiety disorders
AU - Perini, Sarah J.
AU - Slade, Tim
AU - Andrews, Gavin
PY - 2006/2
Y1 - 2006/2
N2 - Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare a newly developed screening measure of disability, the WHODAS II, to three established generic effectiveness measures in terms of its sensitivity to symptom change in people with anxiety disorders. Method: Patients who had undergone treatment for social phobia or panic disorder/agoraphobia at an anxiety disorders clinic were administered generic effectiveness measures and symptom measures before and after treatment. The design was naturalistic and observational. Data analysis included correlations between generic effectiveness and symptom measures; and effect size calculations regarding the ability of each generic effectiveness measure to discriminate between patients whose symptoms improved and patients whose symptoms did not improve over the course of treatment. Results: The WHODAS II was consistently the most sensitive generic effectiveness measure in its capacity to detect symptom changes in patients with social phobia. The SF-12 and K-10 also showed moderate sensitivity to symptom change. In the sample of patients with panic disorder/agoraphobia, the SF-12 was the most sensitive measure overall, closely followed by the K-10 and WHODAS II. The NCS Disability Days were the least sensitive to symptom change in both samples. Conclusion: The WHODAS II is at least as sensitive as other generic effectiveness measures to anxiety symptom changes, and is particularly sensitive to changes in social anxiety symptoms. It may prove to be a valuable measurement tool for informing public health policy in relation to anxiety disorders.
AB - Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare a newly developed screening measure of disability, the WHODAS II, to three established generic effectiveness measures in terms of its sensitivity to symptom change in people with anxiety disorders. Method: Patients who had undergone treatment for social phobia or panic disorder/agoraphobia at an anxiety disorders clinic were administered generic effectiveness measures and symptom measures before and after treatment. The design was naturalistic and observational. Data analysis included correlations between generic effectiveness and symptom measures; and effect size calculations regarding the ability of each generic effectiveness measure to discriminate between patients whose symptoms improved and patients whose symptoms did not improve over the course of treatment. Results: The WHODAS II was consistently the most sensitive generic effectiveness measure in its capacity to detect symptom changes in patients with social phobia. The SF-12 and K-10 also showed moderate sensitivity to symptom change. In the sample of patients with panic disorder/agoraphobia, the SF-12 was the most sensitive measure overall, closely followed by the K-10 and WHODAS II. The NCS Disability Days were the least sensitive to symptom change in both samples. Conclusion: The WHODAS II is at least as sensitive as other generic effectiveness measures to anxiety symptom changes, and is particularly sensitive to changes in social anxiety symptoms. It may prove to be a valuable measurement tool for informing public health policy in relation to anxiety disorders.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Disability
KW - Sensitivity
KW - WHODAS II
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=31844455179&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2005.10.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2005.10.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 16337690
AN - SCOPUS:31844455179
SN - 0165-0327
VL - 90
SP - 123
EP - 130
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
IS - 2-3
ER -