Concurrent validity of the anxiety symptom-scale compared to two well-being scales: results from the Lolland-Falster health study

Aake Packness*, Kaj Sparle Christensen, Erik Simonsen

*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningpeer review

1 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To examine the concurrent validity of the Anxiety Symptom-scale against two well-being scales, the Cantril Ladder (CL) and World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), to test the algorithm defining anxiety against these scales, and identify cut-off points for the Anxiety Symptom-scale sum score. Subjects: 14,405 adult respondents completing all psychometric questions in the Lolland Falster Health Study. Method: Receiver operating characteristic analyses comparing Anxiety Symptom-scale WHO-5 and CL. Results: 2.5% of respondents had an anxiety disorder (3% female and 2% male) according to the Anxiety Symptom-scale algorithm. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.87 for CL and 0.90 for WHO-5 (using inverse scores), indicating high concordance with anxiety disorder as identified by the scale. A score solely ≥2 on item 10 is a relevant cut off to low wellbeing. Anxiety disorder covers a broad range on the scale’s sum score, with 3 to 4 indicating low well-being in this population sample and a sensitivity of 0.85 − 0.99 against CL and WHO-5. Conclusion: The Anxiety Symptom-scale is a sensitive and valid instrument for the identification of patients in low well-being with symptoms of anxiety. A score ≥2 on the functional impact (Item 10) of all symptoms is a relevant indicator of anxiety associated with low well-being in this sample. A higher Anxiety Symptom-scale sum score is coherent with lower well-being, though without specific cut-off points. Further validation of the Anxiety Symptom-scale in a clinical setting is recommended.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
BogserieNordic Journal of Psychiatry
Vol/bind77
Udgave nummer6
Sider (fra-til)532-539
Antal sider8
ISSN0803-9488
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2023

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
No funding is received The Lolland-Falster Health Study (LOFUS), Nykøbing Falster Hospital, Denmark, is a collaboration between Region Zealand, Nykøbing Falster Hospital, and Lolland and Guldborgsund municipalities. The authors are grateful to LOFUS for making the LOFUS data available for the present study. However, LOFUS bears no responsibility for the data analysis conducted or the data interpretation presented in this paper.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Nordic Psychiatric Association.

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