Premium
The Hopkins Symptom Checklist‐25 is a sensitive case‐finder of clinically important depressive states in elderly people in primary care
Author(s) -
Fröjdh Karin,
Håkansson Anders,
Karlsson Ingvar
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.1102
Subject(s) - rating scale , depression (economics) , checklist , montgomery–åsberg depression rating scale , psychiatry , psychology , depressive symptoms , major depressive episode , primary care , clinical psychology , major depressive disorder , medicine , cognition , developmental psychology , family medicine , economics , cognitive psychology , macroeconomics
Objective No depression rating scale has yet been designed to identify all clinically important depressive states in elderly. Therefore, this study investigated the Hopkins Symptom Checklist‐25 (HSCL‐25), a self‐rating scale for depression, to see if it was a sensitive indicator of major, minor and subsyndromal depression. Methods Structured interviews of 37 people with a high depressive score and an age and sex matched control group comprised of 37 persons with a low depressive score in HSCL‐25, in order to compare the HSCL‐25 ratings with the Montgomery‐ Åsberg‐Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as well as with the criteria for major, minor and subsyndromal depression. Results The sensitivity for identifying any depression was 94% and the specificity was 94% for HSCL‐25 compared to the diagnostic criteria for depressive disorders. Conclusions HSCL‐25 is a sensitive case‐finder of any depressive disorder and may be useful in general practice and for screening studies of depression in elderly people. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.