ARE YOU DEPRESSED - SCREENING FOR DEPRESSION IN THE TERMINALLY ILL

Objective: This study compared the performance of four brief screening measures for depression in a group of terminally ill patients. The me thods included 1) a single-item interview assessing depressed mood, 2) a two-item interview assessing depressed mood and loss of interest in activities, 3) a visual analog scale for depressed mood, and 4) the B eck Depression Inventory-Short Form. Method: Semistructured diagnostic interviews for depression were administered to 197 patients receiving palliative care for advanced cancer. The interview diagnoses served a s the standard against which the screening performance of the four bri ef screening methods was assessed. Results: Single-item interview scre ening correctly identified the eventual diagnostic outcome of every pa tient, substantially outperforming the questionnaire and visual analog measures. Conclusions: Brief screening measures for depression are im portant clinical tools for terminally ill patients. For diagnostic pur poses, however, they do not approach the validity of a single-item tha t asks, in effect, ''Are you depressed?''