This easy-to-use self-administered patient questionnaire is used as a screening tool and severity measure for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).¹²

Generalised Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7)

The GAD-7 score 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, and adding together the scores for the seven questions.

Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater.

Using the threshold score of 10, the GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for GAD. It is moderately good at screening three other common anxiety disorders - panic disorder (sensitivity 74%, specificity 81%), social anxiety disorder (sensitivity 72%, specificity 80%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (sensitivity 66%, specificity 81%).³

The copyright for the GAD-7 was formerly held with Pfizer, who provided the educational grant for Drs Spitzer, Williams and Kroenke who originally designed it. In 2010, Pfizer made available both the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7 without copyright restriction and at no charge. As such, no permission is required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute the GAD-7.