Selective cutoff reporting in studies of the accuracy of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: Comparison of results based on published cutoffs versus all cutoffs using individual participant data meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Selectively reported results from only well-performing cutoffs in diagnostic accuracy studies may bias estimates in meta-analyses. We investigated cutoff reporting patterns for the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; standard cutoff 10) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; no standard cutoff, commonly used 10-13) and compared accuracy estimates based on published cutoffs versus all cutoffs.

Methods

We conducted bivariate random effects meta-analyses using individual participant data to compare accuracy from published versus all cutoffs.

Results

For the PHQ-9 (30 studies, N = 11,773), published results underestimated sensitivity for cutoffs below 10 (median difference: -0.06) and overestimated for cutoffs above 10 (median difference: 0.07). EPD

SUBMITTER: Neupane D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8412225 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature