Table of Contents

Component Description

A nine-item depression screening instrument (variable prefix is DPQ), also called the Patient Health Questionnaire (Kroenke and Spitzer, 2002; Kroenke et al., 2001) was administered to determine the frequency of depression symptoms over the past 2 weeks. For each symptom question, points ranging from 0 to 3, are associated with the response categories "not at all," "several days," "more than half the days," and "nearly every day.” This screening instrument incorporates DSM-IV depression diagnostic criteria (Spitzer et al.,1999).

Eligible Sample

Participants aged 12 years and over were eligible. Only data from participants aged 18 and older are included in this data file. Participants requiring a proxy were not eligible because of the sensitive nature of the questions. Data for youth aged 12-17 years are available through the NCHS Research Data Center.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The questions were asked at the Mobile Examination Center (MEC), by trained interviewers, using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) system as part of the MEC interview.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

The CAPI system is programmed with built-in consistency checks to reduce data entry errors.

Data Processing and Editing

Edits were made to ensure completeness, consistency and analytic usefulness of the data.

Analytic Notes

A total score, ranging from 0 to 27, can be calculated for persons who have complete responses to the symptom questions. Major depression and depression severity can be assessed using pre-defined cut-points, described in the references that follow.

The NHANES full sample 2-Year MEC Exam Weights (WTMEC2YR) should be used to analyze these data.

Please refer to the NHANES Analytic Guidelines and the on-line NHANES Tutorial for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues.

References

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number.
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS

DPQ010 - Have little interest in doing things

Variable Name:
DPQ010
SAS Label:
Have little interest in doing things
English Text:
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems: little interest or pleasure in doing things? Would you say...
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 3792 3792
1 Several days 816 4608
2 More than half the days 280 4888
3 Nearly every day 198 5086
7 Refused 4 5090
9 Don't know 4 5094
. Missing 439 5533

DPQ020 - Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless

Variable Name:
DPQ020
SAS Label:
Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 3865 3865
1 Several days 831 4696
2 More than half the days 224 4920
3 Nearly every day 167 5087
7 Refused 2 5089
9 Don't know 4 5093
. Missing 440 5533

DPQ030 - Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much

Variable Name:
DPQ030
SAS Label:
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 3119 3119
1 Several days 1141 4260
2 More than half the days 383 4643
3 Nearly every day 443 5086
7 Refused 3 5089
9 Don't know 4 5093
. Missing 440 5533

DPQ040 - Feeling tired or having little energy

Variable Name:
DPQ040
SAS Label:
Feeling tired or having little energy
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] feeling tired or having little energy?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 2584 2584
1 Several days 1612 4196
2 More than half the days 457 4653
3 Nearly every day 432 5085
7 Refused 3 5088
9 Don't know 4 5092
. Missing 441 5533

DPQ050 - Poor appetite or overeating

Variable Name:
DPQ050
SAS Label:
Poor appetite or overeating
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] poor appetite or overeating?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 3812 3812
1 Several days 778 4590
2 More than half the days 276 4866
3 Nearly every day 221 5087
7 Refused 2 5089
9 Don't know 3 5092
. Missing 441 5533

DPQ060 - Feeling bad about yourself

Variable Name:
DPQ060
SAS Label:
Feeling bad about yourself
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] feeling bad about yourself - or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 4237 4237
1 Several days 575 4812
2 More than half the days 147 4959
3 Nearly every day 124 5083
7 Refused 3 5086
9 Don't know 5 5091
. Missing 442 5533

DPQ070 - Trouble concentrating on things

Variable Name:
DPQ070
SAS Label:
Trouble concentrating on things
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching TV?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 4241 4241
1 Several days 517 4758
2 More than half the days 156 4914
3 Nearly every day 172 5086
7 Refused 2 5088
9 Don't know 3 5091
. Missing 442 5533

DPQ080 - Moving or speaking slowly or too fast

Variable Name:
DPQ080
SAS Label:
Moving or speaking slowly or too fast
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite - being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 4541 4541
1 Several days 328 4869
2 More than half the days 120 4989
3 Nearly every day 95 5084
7 Refused 2 5086
9 Don't know 5 5091
. Missing 442 5533

DPQ090 - Thought you would be better off dead

Variable Name:
DPQ090
SAS Label:
Thought you would be better off dead
English Text:
[Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems:] Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD DPQ1
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all 4893 4893
1 Several days 136 5029
2 More than half the days 32 5061
3 Nearly every day 24 5085
7 Refused 2 5087
9 Don't know 3 5090
. Missing 443 5533

DPQ100 - Difficulty these problems have caused

Variable Name:
DPQ100
SAS Label:
Difficulty these problems have caused
English Text:
How difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with people?
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Not at all difficult, 2480 2480
1 Somewhat difficult, 714 3194
2 Very difficult, 132 3326
3 Extremely difficult 33 3359
7 Refused 1 3360
9 Don't know 2 3362
. Missing 2171 5533