Validity and reliability of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in cancer patients in Peru

Abstract The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) despite being widely studied in various populations, there is still no consensus on its factor structure. Our study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of HADS in people with cancer. It involved 467 patients-diagnosed with cancer, who could read and write and were treated in a public institution specialized in cancer. It was found that HADS is best suited to a bifactorial structure where there is one general factor (emotional distress) and two specific factors (anxiety and depression). HADS proves to be invariant according to sex and years of education. It is moderately related to Beck's anxiety and depression inventory. Also, it presents acceptable levels of reliability and relationship with instruments used in the diagnosis of anxiety and depression. Its brevity, versatility, hospital-focused design, and extensive study make HADS a very important instrument in the detection of anxiety and depression in cancer patients.