The cut-off points of the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in detecting non-full remission and a current major depressive episode.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

This study aimed to ascertain the cut-off scores of the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS) for non-full remission (FR) and a current major depressive episode (MDE) and compare the discriminative abilities of the DSSS and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

METHODS:

One-hundred and nineteen depressive outpatients who completed a 6-month follow-up were used to ascertain the cut-off scores for non-FR, defined as a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score ≥ 8; another 214 consecutive outpatients were assessed to identify the cut-off scores for a MDE, as defined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to ascertain the cut-off scores.

RESULTS:

The area under the ROC curve was greatest for the DSSS depression subscale (DS), followed by the HADS depression subscale (HADS-D). The cut-off scores for non-FR were a DS score ≥ 9 (sensitivity and specificity: 88.7 and 71.9%, respectively) and a HADS-D score ≥ 8 (77.4 and 84.2%), and the cut-off scores for a MDE were a DS score ≥ 19 (86.3 and 75.6%) and a HADS-D score ≥ 11 (77.9 and 76.5%).

CONCLUSIONS:

The DSSS and HADS can be used to distinguish different depressive states. The results demonstrated the discriminative validity of the DSSS and the HADS.

• Authors: Ching-I Hung, Chia-Yih Liu, Shuu-Jiun Wang, Yi-Chun Yao, Ching-Hui Yang
• Journal: International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice (Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract) Vol. 16 Issue 1 Pg. 33-40 (Mar 2012) ISSN: 1471-1788 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22122659 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Validation Study)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Depressive Disorder, Major (diagnosis, physiopathology, psychology)
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
• Female
• Humans
• Interview, Psychological
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Psychiatric Status Rating Scales (standards, statistics & numerical data)
• Psychometrics (standards)
• ROC Curve
• Remission Induction
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• Somatoform Disorders (diagnosis, physiopathology)
• Young Adult