ABSTRACT
AIM: The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is widely used for detecting and screening depression in Iraq. However, no psychometric assessment has been performed on any Iraqi version. This study aims at studying the reliability and validity of the Iraqi Kurdish version of the PHQ-9 as tool for identifying depression. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used; data were collected from 872 participants (49.3% female and 51.7% male) at Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs) in the host community as well as from Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugee camps. Sociodemographic information was obtained; PHQ-9 for the diagnosis and screening of depression and Self Reporting Questionnaire 20 items (SRQ-20) for the screening of common mental illnesses were administered. Validity and reliability analyses were performed. RESULTS: In total, 19% of the participants had a PHQ-9 total score equal to or higher than the clinical cut-off of 10 for diagnosing depressive disorder. The internal consistency of the PHQ-9 was good (Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.89). Good concurrent validity for PHQ-9 compared with SRQ-20 (71%, p < 0.001) was found. CONCLUSIONS: The PHQ-9 demonstrates good psychometric properties and proves to be a good tool for detecting and screening depression.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and outcomes of Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 patients. METHODS: In this large cohort study, 15,409 confirmed patients with the COVID-19 of different severities were followed-up from three specialized COVID-19 hospitals between March 18 and October 11, 2020 in Iraqi Kurdistan. The predictors of mortality and severity were examined in binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The incidence rate of severe/critical status was 12.3% with a median age of 36.0 and case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.98%. The incidence rate of severe/critical conditions and CFR rose with increased age groups; except for 0-14 years (11.9%). The incidence rate of severe/critical patients and CFR was 8.3% and 0.5%, 21.1% and 4.0%, and 23.7% and 8.7% in 15-49 years, 50-64 years, and 65 and older age groups, respectively. The severity of the disease and CFR was associated with coexisting chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (18.2% and 3.1%) and diabetes mellitus (19.8% and 3.4%). The asymptomatic patients (8400 and 54.5%) had statistically higher CFR; 2.3% versus 1.6% (P = 0.006). The most common symptoms on diagnosis were fever (31.9%), cough (23.5%), loss of smell/taste (16.3%), sore throat (15.7%), shortness of breath (9.8%), and headache (9.5%). The results showed that being older was the only predictor of mortality and severity in COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSIONS: This region has a low incidence of severe-critic status and CFR. The patients with coexisting medical conditions are more likely to have severe conditions and die of COVID-19. The older age predicts severe/critic status and higher CFR.