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The Depression Scale (DEPS) as a case finder for depression in various subgroups of primary care patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Outi Poutanen ,
Anna-Maija Koivisto  and
Raimo K.R. Salokangas
Outi Poutanen*
Affiliation:
University of Tampere, Medical School/Tampere University Hospital, Psychiatric Clinic, P.O. Box 607, Teiskontie 35, Tampere33014, Finland
Anna-Maija Koivisto
Affiliation:
University of Tampere, School of Public Health, Finland
Raimo K.R. Salokangas
Affiliation:
University of Turku, Department of Psychiatry/University Central Hospital in Turku, Psychiatric Clinic, Finland
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +358 50 3068159. E-mail address: outi.poutanen@uta.fi (O. Poutanen).
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Abstract

Purpose

The quick and simple Depression Scale (DEPS) has been a popular self-rating depression scale in Finland for nearly 15 years. The purpose was to assess the validity of the DEPS in various subgroups of patients.

Materials and methods

Primary care patients, aged 18–64, completed a postal questionnaire including the DEPS. Of the 1643 patients all screen-positive subjects and every 10th screen-negative subject were invited for interview (the Present State Examination, PSE). Complete DEPS scores were available for 410 patients. They were grouped by gender, age, marital status, perceived physical health, basic education and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) score. Separately for each subgroup, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were done, sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve (AUC), predictive values and likelihood ratios were calculated, and Cronbach's α was estimated.

Results

The DEPS was valid in general, but best for patients with basic education longer than 9 years.

Discussion

The key statistical figures for the DEPS were comparable to the figures for other short self-rating scales.

Conclusion

The DEPS is a valid case finder for primary care patients in the age group 18–64 years, and especially suitable for more highly educated patients. Future studies comparing the DEPS with other simple depression rating scales are needed.

Keywords

DepressionPrimary health careQuestionnaireSubgroup analyses
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 23 , Issue 8 , December 2008 , pp. 580 - 586
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2008

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