Validity of the 3-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-3) for Identifying Moderate-to-Severe Depressive Symptoms Among Elderly Perioperative Patients: A Secondary Analysis of a National Prospective Cohort

NCT07818057 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 301YXM02
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 10,536
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This is a retrospective observational study based on our hospital's prospective peri-operative elderly patient database. We aim to evaluate the correlation between the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the brief 3-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-3) for screening depressive symptoms among elderly surgical patients. Secondary outcomes include the associations of the two scales with adverse events: 30-day post-operative mortality, readmission, surgical site infection, delirium, and 1-year all-cause mortality. No additional interventions will be performed; only existing routinely-collected clinical data will be analysed.

Conditions

Depressive Disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• 1-year all-cause mortality after surgery

  12 months after surgery

Interventions

Retrospective data analysis OTHER

No trial-specific intervention. This study is a secondary analysis of existing routine clinical data including PHQ-3 and PHQ-9 scores.

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Elderly surgical patients aged 65 years or older who underwent non-neurosurgical and non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia and were enrolled in our hospital's prospective perioperative database, with complete perioperative PHQ-3 and PHQ-9 assessments

You may qualify if:

• \. Aged ≥ 65 years old 2. Patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia

You may not qualify if:

• \. ASA physical status ≥ IV (including ASA class IV) 2. Patients transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) after surgery 3. Preoperative history of schizophrenia, epilepsy, or Parkinson's disease 4. Diseases requiring corticosteroid therapy for more than 7 days within 1 year before surgery 5. Preoperative inability to communicate (coma, severe dementia, or language/hearing impairment), or MMSE score \< 26 6. Any cerebrovascular event within the past 3 years

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese PLA General Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Chinese PLA General Hospital

Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100853, China

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depressive Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mood Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Chief Physician (Anesthesiology)

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2026
• First Posted: September 14, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2020
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2022
• Study Completion: April 30, 2022
• Last Updated: September 14, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Locations

CN (1)