Psychometric Properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) for Measuring the Somatic Symptoms of Psychiatric Outpatients

Background: About 2% to 5% of all primary-care patients have a somatization disorder, and somatic symptoms are strongly associated with comorbid depression and anxiety disorders. Objective: The authors evaluated the validity of the 15-item Somatization module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) among psychiatric outpatients. Method: The PHQ-15 was administered to patients with somatic complaints; it was compared with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Fifty-seven Korean subjects completed the survey. Results: The PHQ-15 exhibited significant internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Convergent validity with the BDI and GHQ-12 were positive. Conclusion: These results indicate that the Korean version of the PHQ-15 is appropriate for measuring the severity of somatic symptoms in a psychiatric outpatient setting. (Psychosomatics 2009; 50: 580-585)