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World Health Organization 5-item well-being index: validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version

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Abstract

The psychological well-being dimension and depressive symptoms are both important variables in an individual’s health. In this study, we evaluated the World Health Organization 5-item well-being index (WHO-Five) internal and external validities, and accuracy in detecting depression. A total of 1,128 individuals between 18 and 65 years old from a rural Brazilian population were included. Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis were performed for internal validation. Demographic variables means were compared, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed, and sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for different cutoff points were calculated for external validation and accuracy in detecting depression. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83, and only one factor was responsible for 59% of common variances, with an eigenvalue of 2.96. Higher WHO-Five scores were associated with being man, from oldest age category and retired. It was also related to better general health self-perception and negative screening in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Based on BDI, the area under the curve was 67.37. A sensitivity of 66/75% and a negative predictive value of 91/92% for cutoffs <19/20 were detected. WHO-Five showed internal and external validities when used to measure the well-being dimension and to be a useful tool for depression screening.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Giovana Dantas and Dr. Rosa Levandovski for their commitment and support. The Programa Brasil-Alemanha (PROBRAL) between Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)—Brazil and Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD)—Germany supported this work.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatry Post-Graduate Program, Medical School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Camila Morelatto de Souza

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Medical School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo

  3. Laboratory of Chronobiology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Sala 2201 E, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035-903, Brazil

    Camila Morelatto de Souza & Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo

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  1. Camila Morelatto de Souza
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  2. Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo
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Correspondence to Camila Morelatto de Souza.

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de Souza, C.M., Hidalgo, M.P.L. World Health Organization 5-item well-being index: validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 262, 239–244 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-011-0255-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-011-0255-x

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