Predicting depression and anxiety with a single self-rated health item

Self-rated health (SRH) consists of a single question wherein individuals are asked to evaluate their general health status on a 5-point scale. This study investigated the relationship between SRH and depression/anxiety, with the purpose of getting a better understanding of how the two disorders are related to perceived general health, and to examine the possibility of using SRH as clinical tool for identifying individuals with increased risk for onset and persistent states of depression and anxiety. The study used cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study, a large questionnaire-based population study in northern Sweden. 2336 individuals participated at baseline (T1) and 3-year follow-up (T2). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to measure symptoms of depression and anxiety. The results showed that those with poor SRH rated more severe symptoms of depression and anxiety, than those with good SRH. Those with poor SRH at T1 had more than twofold increased risk of falling into the depression and anxiety case groups at T2. Specifically, they more often experienced onset of symptoms at T2 as well as symptoms that persisted across the two occasions. The results corresponds in large with those from previous studies and supports the utility of SRH as a clinical tool, with the reservation that it may not be strong enough predictor on its own