Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) Assessment

Somatic symptom snapshot

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Brief 15-item somatic symptom check-in for the last 4 weeks.

Choose how much each symptom bothered you.
The finished report keeps the standard PHQ-15 cut points and top symptom drivers in view.

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Score ladder

Somatic pattern map

Somatic pattern brief

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Score lane and cue table

Score	Band	Common cue	Status
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Body-system grouping

Top cluster: {{ dominantSystemLabel }}. These clusters help organize review conversations; they are not official PHQ-15 subscales.

Body-system cluster	Load	Lane	Review cue
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Highest-rated symptom drivers

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Symptom	Response	Score	Prompt
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No item scored above "Not bothered at all," so no symptom driver stands out in this run.

Follow-up cues

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Answer review

#	Item	Response	Score	Interpretation	Copy
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No response rows are available Complete the PHQ-15 before exporting the response ledger.

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Physical symptoms rarely arrive one at a time. A rough month can mix pain, stomach trouble, dizziness, breathlessness, fatigue, sleep disruption, and menstrual or sexual-health complaints into one overall burden that is hard to describe from memory. The Patient Health Questionnaire-15, usually called the PHQ-15, condenses that recent burden into a short screening score from 0 to 30.

The value of the PHQ-15 is not that it explains why symptoms are happening. Its job is narrower and still useful: it shows how much bothersome symptom load is being reported, whether the total stays below the usual review cue of 10, and whether the pattern looks limited or more spread out. On this page, that read is expanded with a band label, a review cue, a dominant symptom grouping, and the highest-rated items so the number is easier to discuss later.

PHQ-15 score bands from 0 to 30 with added reading cues for the review threshold, top cluster, and highest-rated items.

That broader read is useful in primary care, counseling follow-up, occupational health, and personal symptom tracking between visits. Original validation work found that rising PHQ-15 severity moved alongside worse function, more sick days, and greater healthcare use, which is why the questionnaire is commonly used as a burden screener rather than as a one-symptom checklist.

The result still needs restraint. A high PHQ-15 total does not diagnose somatic symptom disorder, does not prove symptoms are medically unexplained, and does not replace a real evaluation. A low total does not make chest pain, fainting, shortness of breath, or other potentially urgent symptoms safe to ignore. The questionnaire summarizes burden. It does not settle cause or urgency.

Technical Details:

PHQ-15 is a 15-item somatic symptom severity measure derived from the PRIME-MD primary-care framework. Each item asks how much a common physical symptom bothered the respondent and uses the same 3-step response scale: 0 for Not bothered at all, 1 for Bothered a little, and 2 for Bothered a lot. Adding the item scores produces the total from 0 to 30.

The published cut points are 5, 10, and 15. In the original validation study, those landmarks separated low, medium, and high somatic symptom severity, with higher bands showing a stepwise drop in functioning and more healthcare use. Later studies explored the PHQ-15 as a case-finding aid for somatoform disorders, but newer reviews have shown that diagnostic discrimination is only moderate and can vary by setting. That is why PHQ-15 totals are best treated as screening severity bands and follow-up cues, not as stand-alone diagnoses.

Comparability depends on the 4-week recall window. The PHQ-15 is widely described as covering symptoms during the past 4 weeks, which is the wording used throughout this page. Some scoring references note that the tiredness and sleep items were originally inherited from the depression module's shorter frame. Repeated comparisons are therefore cleanest when the same wording and the same full 15-item format are used each time.

Modern psychometric reviews suggest that PHQ-15 responses reflect both a general somatic burden factor and recurring symptom domains such as pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, cardiopulmonary symptoms, and fatigue. That helps explain why grouped symptom views can be useful for discussion. It does not turn those groupings into validated official subscales, so the total score remains the main formal output.

Scoring is straightforward: sum the 15 item scores, then read the total against the published bands.

Total = \sum_{i = 1}^{15} s_{i}

PHQ-15 score construction
Symbol or part	Meaning	Range	Role in the report
s_i	One symptom response scored from the 3-step bother scale.	0 to 2	Each answered item adds directly into the total.
Total	Sum of all 15 item scores.	0 to 30	Determines the Band and the main burden reading.
Previous PHQ-15 score	Optional earlier total from another completed PHQ-15.	0 to 30	Changes Change vs prior only. It does not alter the current total.
2/2 items	Count of items rated at the highest response level.	0 to 15	Shows how much of the burden comes from strongly rated symptoms.

PHQ-15 threshold bands
Band	Lower	Upper	Usual reading
Minimal	0	4	Broad somatic burden is low on the scale, though one symptom can still matter on its own.
Low	5	9	Symptoms are noticeable but still below the common 10-point review cue.
Medium	10	14	Clinically meaningful burden that often supports a fuller symptom review.
High	15	30	Highest burden band on the PHQ-15 and usually hard to read responsibly without direct follow-up.

Grouped symptom view used on this page
Body-system grouping	Items included	Why it helps	Important limit
Musculoskeletal & pain	Back pain, limb or joint pain, headaches	Makes multisite pain easier to spot at a glance.	Useful for discussion only, not an official PHQ-15 subscale.
Gastrointestinal	Stomach pain, constipation or diarrhea, nausea or indigestion	Brings bowel and upper-digestive symptoms into one review area.	Does not separate cause, severity outside the scale, or urgency.
Cardiopulmonary & autonomic	Chest pain, dizziness, fainting spells, heart pounding, shortness of breath	Highlights symptom patterns that often need careful context.	Urgency still comes from the symptom itself, not the grouping.
Fatigue & sleep	Low energy, trouble sleeping	Shows whether tiredness and sleep disruption are driving the total.	Not all fatigue or sleep problems have the same cause.
Reproductive & sexual health	Menstrual concerns, pain or problems during sexual intercourse	Keeps sex-specific symptoms visible instead of burying them in the total.	These items can be less applicable or less frequently endorsed in many samples.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

A clean run starts with ordinary recall. Think about the last 4 weeks as a whole, not the best day, the worst flare, or one brief illness. The score becomes more trustworthy when each answer reflects the month that was typical rather than one moment that was unusually sharp or unusually calm.

The quickest useful read after completion is usually this order: Total score, Band, Review cue, Top cluster, and 2/2 items. That sequence tells you whether the burden is low or high, whether the result crosses the usual follow-up threshold, and whether the total is being driven by a few strong symptoms or by many smaller complaints.

If you use Previous PHQ-15 score, make sure the earlier number came from another complete PHQ-15 with the same 4-week framing. The comparison is mathematical either way, but its meaning weakens fast if the older number was recalled from memory, came from a different questionnaire, or came from a shorter symptom window.

Use Assessment lens after scoring if you want screening, follow-up, or visit-preparation wording. It does not change the total.
Use Follow-up focus only to steer cue wording toward pain and fatigue, digestive, cardiopulmonary, or gynecologic and sexual-health concerns.
Treat Highest-rated symptom drivers as the shortlist for notes and questions, not as mini-diagnoses.
Save Response Ledger or answer record only when you genuinely want a detailed follow-up record.

The main mistake is to let the total score overrule symptom reality. A rising score can sit beside an obvious medical problem, and a low score can still hide one symptom that deserves direct review. Use the summary to organize the conversation, then let the symptom story decide how worried you should be.

Step-by-Step Guide:

The page only builds the final report after all 15 prompts are answered, so completeness matters more than speed.

Press Begin Assessment to open the questionnaire. The progress bar and numbered prompt navigator show how many items are complete and which question is active.
For each symptom, choose Not bothered at all, Bothered a little, or Bothered a lot using the last 4 weeks as the frame. If a menstrual or sexual-health item does not apply, select the lowest response instead of leaving it blank.
If the summary does not appear, check the prompt navigator or the progress bar. Any unanswered item keeps the page below 100%, and the final report waits until every question has a response.
Once PHQ-15 Somatic Symptom Snapshot appears, read the overview cards for Total score, Band, Review cue, Top cluster, and 2/2 items.
Open Advanced if you want to change Assessment lens, add a Previous PHQ-15 score, or set a Follow-up focus. Those controls change the framing of the report and comparison text, not the PHQ-15 total.
Use the detailed surfaces that match your goal: Score lane and cue table for band context, Body-system grouping and Highest-rated symptom drivers for pattern review, PHQ-15 score ladder and Somatic pattern map for charts, and Response Ledger or answer record when you need a portable follow-up note.

Before you save anything, make sure the final view matches the symptom story you would actually want to bring into a visit or a repeat screening.

Interpreting Results:

The safest interpretation starts with burden, then pattern, then urgency. Total score and Band tell you how much symptom load the questionnaire captured. Review cue tells you whether the score crossed the common 10-point or 15-point landmarks. Top cluster and Highest-rated symptom drivers then show where that burden is concentrated.

A move from 9 to 10 is only one point, but it changes the result from Low to Medium and flips the Review cue to the common 10+ threshold.
A High band or a 10+ cue means follow-up is more justified. It does not prove somatic symptom disorder, and it does not tell you whether the symptoms are medically explained or unexplained.
A low Total score can still sit beside a symptom that deserves prompt assessment. Verify the read against the actual items in Highest-rated symptom drivers, especially if chest pain, fainting, or breathlessness are present.
Top cluster and the 2/2 items count are there to focus conversation and note-taking. They are not official PHQ-15 subscales and should not replace the total score.

If you entered a prior result, treat Change vs prior as a comparison cue only after you confirm that both totals came from full PHQ-15 assessments using the same recall wording.

Responsible Use Note:

The PHQ-15 is best used to describe symptoms, not to explain them away. If a symptom seems urgent on its own, urgency comes from the symptom, not from the band label. Use the report to prepare questions, document change, or support a visit, but not to rule in or rule out disease by yourself.

This page also makes detailed records easy to copy or download. The score, item answers, charts, Response Ledger, answer record, and shareable URL state can all become personal health notes once you save or send them, so share them only as deliberately as you would any other medical information.

Worked Examples:

A minimal total driven mostly by sleep and energy

Someone selects Bothered a little for Feeling tired or having low energy, Trouble sleeping, and Headaches, with the other 12 items at Not bothered at all. The Total score is 3/30, the Band stays Minimal, the Review cue stays below 10, and Top cluster becomes Fatigue & sleep. The useful read is not that nothing matters. It is that broad somatic burden is low on this screen and the follow-up conversation should stay specific to sleep, energy, and headache pattern rather than to a broad high-burden syndrome.

A 2-point increase that also crosses the usual follow-up threshold

A previous complete PHQ-15 of 8 is entered in Previous PHQ-15 score. The current run marks Back pain, Pain in your arms, legs, or joints, and Headaches as Bothered a lot, plus Feeling tired or having low energy as Bothered a lot, Trouble sleeping as Bothered a little, and Stomach pain as Bothered a little. That produces a Total score of 10/30. The Band becomes Medium, the Review cue flips to 10+ review cue, Change vs prior reads Up 2 vs prior, and Top cluster is Musculoskeletal & pain. The important change is not only the 2-point increase. The result also crossed the common follow-up threshold.

A low total that still should not be shrugged off

A person marks Chest pain as Bothered a lot and Shortness of breath as Bothered a little, with every other item at Not bothered at all. The Total score is only 3/30 and the Band stays Minimal, but Top cluster becomes Cardiopulmonary & autonomic, 2/2 items is 1, and Highest-rated symptom drivers starts with chest pain. This is exactly the kind of result that shows why the total cannot replace judgment about urgency.

A comparison that looks precise but is not clean enough to trust

Another person remembers that a past PHQ-15 was "around 14" and types 14 into Previous PHQ-15 score before completing a current 11/30 run. The page correctly shows Change vs prior as Down 3 vs prior, but the comparison is only as reliable as the older number. If the prior value did not come from another full PHQ-15 scored over the same 4-week frame, the better fix is to clear the comparison field and rely on the current Total score, Band, and item pattern instead.

FAQ:

Does a PHQ-15 score of 10 or 15 mean I have a somatic symptom disorder?

No. Those are severity and follow-up cues, not diagnoses. A score at or above 10 tells you symptom burden is high enough to justify closer review more often, while 15 or more lands in the highest burden band on the scale.

Why won't the final report appear?

The page waits for all 15 responses. If the summary is missing, check the progress bar or the numbered prompt navigator and answer the remaining items. Any blank item keeps the result from finalizing.

What if a menstrual or sexual-health item does not apply to me?

Use Not bothered at all for that item rather than leaving it blank. The page expects a complete 15-item run, and that is also the cleanest way to keep the scoring consistent within this version of the questionnaire.

Why does the page ask for a previous PHQ-15 score?

It supports follow-up comparison. The most trustworthy use is another complete PHQ-15 scored with the same 4-week wording. If the older number is uncertain or came from memory, the comparison can look more precise than it really is.

Are the body-system groupings official PHQ-15 subscales?

No. They are a practical reading aid on this page. Research supports the idea that PHQ-15 answers often cluster into broad symptom domains, but the formal published interpretation still centers on the total score and its cut points.

Where do my answers go when I use this page?

There is no tool-specific server-side scoring step here. The score, charts, and answer record are built in the browser, but copied links, saved files, and shared exports can still preserve sensitive answers because the page supports shareable URL state and downloadable records.

Glossary:

Somatic symptom burden: The overall amount of physical symptom distress captured by the questionnaire rather than by one symptom alone.
Review cue: A score landmark, such as 10 or 15, that signals more careful follow-up may be warranted.
4-week recall window: The past-month symptom frame used by this page when answers are entered and compared.
Body-system grouping: A practical way of organizing related items such as pain, gastrointestinal, or cardiopulmonary symptoms for discussion.