Hospital Anxiety and depression Scale (HADS) in fibromyalgia: sensitivity and specificity analysis

Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER) (Rivera et al., 2006) suggests the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS, Zigmond y Snaith, 1983) for clinical assessment of anxiety and depression in fibromyalgia (FM). However, there is no HAD-FM cut-off yet. Aiming to assess applicability, psychometric properties and sensitivity/specificity of HADS in FM, 131 outpatients were assessed at San Vicente Hospital (Fibromyalgia Service, Alicante, Spain), using like external criteria BDI and STAI -E. Item analysis was performed, calculating the internal consistency and factor structure study by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The cut-off points were found by ROC curves. Two-factor structure was replicated. Reliability is adequate (HADA=.80, HADD=.85). Several cut-off points are showed with sensitivity and specificity levels >70% for both subscales. HADS has optimal psychometric properties in FM and its useful as a screening tool to assess anxious-depressive symptoms in FM patients.