PHQ-9 Depression Severity. Scores of 5, 10, 15, and 20 represent cutpoints for mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression, respectively. Sensitivity to change has also been confirmed.

What is a high depression score?

0 to 4 points:No depression5 to 9 points:Mild depression10 to 14 points:Moderate depression15 to 19 points:Moderately severe depression20 to 27 points:Severe depression

What is a negative PHQ-9?

The PHQ-9 has 9 questions with a score ranging from 0 to 3 for each question (maximum score of 27). A threshold score of 10 or higher is considered to indicate mild major depression, 15 or higher indicates moderate major depression, and 20 or higher severe major depression.