This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at how well PROMIS Anxiety measures detect anxiety disorders. The research included data from 1121 adults across multiple studies. The goal was to see if these tools could reliably identify people with anxiety conditions.
The analysis found that the measures performed well. For general anxiety disorder, the test correctly identified 76% of cases and correctly ruled out 74% of those without the condition. For generalized anxiety disorder specifically, the accuracy was slightly higher, identifying 75% of cases and ruling out 79% of others.
The overall accuracy score, known as the AUC, was 0.81 for general anxiety and 0.84 for generalized anxiety. These numbers suggest the tools are useful for screening. However, the study noted a limited number of studies available, especially for other PROMIS Anxiety measures. There was also a lack of testing in primary care settings.
No safety concerns were reported because the PROMIS Anxiety measures are questionnaires without physical side effects. Readers should understand that these results come from a specific set of studies and may not apply to every clinical situation. The findings support the use of these tools but do not replace a full clinical evaluation.