Systematic Review of the Use of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index Across Different Disease Areas

BACKGROUND: Since its first publication in 1998, the 5-item World Health Organization Well-being index, WHO-5, has become one of the most widely used questionnaires to assess subjective psychological well-being. AIMS: To perform a systematic review of the WHO-5 questionnaire, with a focus on its use across various disease areas and patient populations. METHODS: Studies reporting the use of the WHO-5 were searched on the PubMed and PsycINFO databases (search December 2024). The classification of the different diseases or disorders was used following the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases. RESULTS: A total of 552 studies met the predefined criteria for inclusion in the review. We provide an overview of the WHO-5 use in all different disease areas, the psychological burden of the patients, and if available, the impact of the treatments on their well-being. The groups with the most publications refer to the Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic (n = 161, 29.2%) followed by the group of mental, behavioral, or neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 141, 25.6%), and the group of endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (n = 120, 21.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The WHO-5 is a short questionnaire consisting of 5 positively formulated questions, which successfully detect when a disease impacts a person's subjective well-being. The scale proved to detect changes in well-being across various diseases around the world, and it should be considered in clinical practice and research.