International journal of environmental research and public health

How Accurate Self-Reported Questions Are for Detecting Depression in the General Population

Updated

Abstract

The prevalence of depression was 7.7% when assessed using self-reported items compared to 5.9% with the (PHQ-8).

  • (SRD) showed moderate-low sensitivity (52.9%) and positive predictive value (40.4%) compared to the PHQ-8.
  • High global agreement (92.7%), specificity (95.1%), and negative predictive value (97.0%) were observed for SRD.
  • Positive agreement between SRD and PHQ-8 was linked to marital status, employment status, country of birth, and social class.
  • Negative agreement was associated with all independent variables except for country of birth.
  • SRD items may overestimate the prevalence of depression, raising questions about their suitability for clinical use.

Simplified

Key numbers

1988 of 22,065
Prevalence of Depression ()
Individuals reporting depression via in the study sample.
52.9%
Sensitivity of
Proportion of true positives identified by compared to PHQ-8.
95.1%
Specificity of
Proportion of true negatives identified by compared to PHQ-8.

Full Text

What this is

  • This research evaluates the accuracy of () compared to the (PHQ-8).
  • Data from the European Health Interview Survey in Spain (2014/2015) involving 22,065 participants were analyzed.
  • The study assesses how well predicts depression and identifies factors influencing agreement between and PHQ-8.

Essence

  • tends to overestimate prevalence compared to the PHQ-8. While shows high specificity, its sensitivity is low, questioning its diagnostic use in clinical settings.

Key takeaways

  • indicated a prevalence of 7.7% compared to 5.9% with the PHQ-8. This suggests that may overestimate depression rates.
  • demonstrated moderate-low sensitivity (52.9%) and moderate-low positive predictive value (40.4%), while specificity was high (95.1%) and negative predictive value was very high (97.0%).
  • Factors such as marital status, employment, and social class significantly influenced the agreement between and PHQ-8 results.

Caveats

  • The study's reliance on a two-item may limit its diagnostic accuracy. The exclusion of an additional diagnostic item could affect comparability across surveys.
  • The PHQ-8 cutoff of 10+ was used as a reference, which may not capture all cases of depression, particularly milder forms.

Definitions

  • Self-reported depression (SRD): A measure based on individuals' responses to two yes/no questions about past depression experiences.
  • Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8): An 8-item questionnaire assessing depressive symptoms over the past two weeks, used as a validated reference standard.

Simplified

Funding

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.
PubMed

Funding Sources

Department of Health
PubMed
Medical Research Council
PubMed

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