GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7) Calculator

questionnaire

Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge

Not being able to stop or control worrying

Worrying too much about different things

Trouble relaxing

Being so restless that it is hard to sit still

Becoming easily annoyed or irritable

Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen

✓ when to use

Use for anxiety screening in adults in primary care, mental health, and outpatient settings. Suitable for initial screening, severity grading, and serial monitoring of treatment response. Commonly administered alongside the PHQ-9 to screen for the most prevalent mental health conditions in primary care. Endorsed by NICE and widely used internationally.

✗ when not to use

The GAD-7 was developed for generalised anxiety disorder but also has reasonable sensitivity for panic disorder, social anxiety, and PTSD. It is not a diagnostic tool — a positive screen requires clinical assessment. Not validated in children under 12. May be elevated by medical conditions that mimic anxiety (hyperthyroidism, phaeochromocytoma, caffeinism, medication side effects). Always exclude medical causes of anxiety symptoms before attributing them to a primary anxiety disorder.

clinical pearls

The GAD-7 and PHQ-9 together take under 5 minutes and screen for the two most common mental health conditions in primary care (anxiety and depression). Administer both — they frequently co-occur, and dual screening is far more informative than either alone.
The first two items (Q1: nervousness, Q2: uncontrollable worry) form the GAD-2, which can serve as an ultra-brief initial screen. A GAD-2 score ≥3 should prompt the full GAD-7.
Although designed for generalised anxiety disorder, the GAD-7 performs reasonably well as a transdiagnostic anxiety screener — it picks up panic, social anxiety, and PTSD at lower sensitivity. If the GAD-7 is elevated but the presentation does not fit GAD, consider these alternative diagnoses.
A ≥5-point decrease in GAD-7 is considered a clinically meaningful improvement during treatment. If a patient is not improving by 4–6 weeks, reassess the treatment plan.
Physical symptoms of anxiety (restlessness, tension, sleep disturbance) overlap substantially with medical conditions. Before attributing a high GAD-7 to primary anxiety, ensure thyroid function, medication review, and substance use history have been checked.

✓ when to use

✗ when not to use

clinical pearls

The GAD-7 and PHQ-9 together take under 5 minutes and screen for the two most common mental health conditions in primary care (anxiety and depression). Administer both — they frequently co-occur, and dual screening is far more informative than either alone.
The first two items (Q1: nervousness, Q2: uncontrollable worry) form the GAD-2, which can serve as an ultra-brief initial screen. A GAD-2 score ≥3 should prompt the full GAD-7.
Although designed for generalised anxiety disorder, the GAD-7 performs reasonably well as a transdiagnostic anxiety screener — it picks up panic, social anxiety, and PTSD at lower sensitivity. If the GAD-7 is elevated but the presentation does not fit GAD, consider these alternative diagnoses.
A ≥5-point decrease in GAD-7 is considered a clinically meaningful improvement during treatment. If a patient is not improving by 4–6 weeks, reassess the treatment plan.
Physical symptoms of anxiety (restlessness, tension, sleep disturbance) overlap substantially with medical conditions. Before attributing a high GAD-7 to primary anxiety, ensure thyroid function, medication review, and substance use history have been checked.

GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7)

questionnaire

✓ when to use

✗ when not to use

clinical pearls

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