What does a GAD-7 score of 15 mean?
A GAD-7 score of 15 is the start of the severe anxiety band, which runs from 15 to 21. It suggests anxiety is taking up a lot of your days, but it is a screening score, not a diagnosis.
The bands are 0 to 4 minimal, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate, and 15 to 21 severe. In studies, a score of 10 or more picked up 89 percent of people with generalized anxiety disorder. High scores can also come from panic disorder, social anxiety or PTSD.
At 15, book a doctor visit in the next week or two rather than waiting. Anxiety at this level responds well to treatment, most often CBT, medicine, or both. A doctor will also check for things that mimic anxiety, such as an overactive thyroid or a lot of caffeine.
Source: National HIV Curriculum, University of Washington: GAD-7 anxiety screening
See a doctor promptly if
- Any thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself. If you might act on them, call your local emergency number now
- A PHQ-9 of 20 or more, or a GAD-7 of 15 or more, especially if you are struggling to work, eat or sleep
- Scores that keep rising across two or three checks, even if each one seems small
- Low mood that alternates with spells of very high energy and little need for sleep
Try the mood check2 min, free, nothing to installThe PHQ-9 and GAD-7, the two questionnaires doctors screen low mood and anxiety with, scored privately on your device.
Mind and sleepA private mood check, and guides on anxiety, low mood, ADHD and sleep
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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