Uchida Hiroyuki, Kuroiwa Chiaki, Ohki Sae, Takahashi Kana, Tsuchiya Kenji, Kikuchi Senichiro, Hirao Kazuki
Department of Rehabilitation, Kurashiki Heisei Hospital, Kurashiki, Japan.
Graduate School of Health Sciences, Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan.
Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023 Jul 13;16:2647-2654. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S417446. eCollection 2023.
Psychological distress is prevalent worldwide and can lead to the development of mental conditions such as major depression and anxiety disorders. It is essential to assess the severity of patient-reported outcomes to provide effective treatment for psychological distress. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) is one of the most widely used psychological distress scales. However, the smallest detectable change (SDC) of the K6 score has not been elucidated. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine the SDC of the K6 score in a Japanese adult population.
Participants aged 20-59 years who are native Japanese speakers were recruited from the panel list of a web research firm. The K6 score was assessed at baseline (T1) and at 2-week follow-up (T2). SDCs were calculated at the individual (SDC) and group (SDC) levels. Intraclass correlation coefficient agreement (ICC) was calculated to assess test-retest reliability and Cronbach's alpha to evaluate internal consistency.
A total of 3254 (1627 [50%] female) responded at T1 and T2. The mean (standard deviation) K6 scores were 5.71 (5.84) at T1 and 5.65 (5.83) at T2. The SDC and SDC of the K6 score were 8.47 (35.31%) and 0.15 (0.63%), respectively. The ICC was 0.73, and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.94.
Our study provided evidence on the reliability and interpretation of the K6 score. Calculating the SDC of the K6 score can help identify the significance of changes in psychological distress over time and can determine the efficacy of interventions for psychological distress.
心理困扰在全球范围内普遍存在，并可能导致诸如重度抑郁症和焦虑症等精神疾病的发生。评估患者报告结局的严重程度对于提供有效的心理困扰治疗至关重要。凯斯勒心理困扰量表（K6）是使用最广泛的心理困扰量表之一。然而，K6评分的最小可检测变化（SDC）尚未阐明。因此，本研究旨在确定日本成年人群中K6评分的SDC。
从一家网络研究公司的样本列表中招募了20至59岁的以日语为母语的参与者。在基线（T1）和2周随访（T2）时评估K6评分。在个体（SDC）和组（SDC）水平上计算SDC。计算组内相关系数一致性（ICC）以评估重测信度，并计算克朗巴哈系数以评估内部一致性。
共有3254人（1627人[50%]为女性）在T1和T2时做出回应。T1时K6评分的平均值（标准差）为5.71（5.84），T2时为5.65（5.83）。K6评分的SDC和SDC分别为8.47（35.31%）和0.15（0.63%）。ICC为0.73，克朗巴哈系数为0.94。
我们的研究为K6评分的可靠性和解释提供了证据。计算K6评分的SDC有助于确定心理困扰随时间变化的意义，并可确定心理困扰干预措施的疗效。
