The sensitivity and specificity of the Major Depression Inventory, using the Present State Examination as the index of diagnostic validity

Background: A self-rating inventory has been developed to measure DSM-IV an d ICD-10 diagnoses of major (moderate to severe) depression by the patients ' self-reported symptoms. This Major Depression Inventory (MDI) can be scor ed both according to the DSM-IV and the ICD-10 algorithms for depressive sy mptomatology and according to severity scales by the simple total sum of th e items. Methods: The Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry ( SCAN) was used as index of validity for the clinician's DSM-IV and ICD-10 d iagnosis of major (moderate to severe) depression. The sensitivity and spec ificity of MDI was assessed in a sample of 43 subjects covering a spectrum of depressive symptoms. Results: The sensitivity of the MDI algorithms for major depression varied between 0.86 and 0.92. The specificity varied betwe en 0.82 and 0.86. When using the total score of MDI the optimal cut-off sco re was estimated 26 and the total score was shown to be a sufficient statis tic, Limitations: The sample of subjects was limited. Patients with psychot ic depression were not included. Conclusion: The MDI was found to have a se nsitivity and specificity which is acceptable. The questionnaire is brief a nd can be scored diagnostically by the DSM-IV and ICD-10 algorithms as well as by its simple total score. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.