Health
Depression assessment tool developed
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 12, 2005
To address the difficulty in determining when treatment of a depressed patient can safely be discontinued, researchers recently developed and tested a brief, seven-item questionnaire to assist in this assessment.
The HAMD-7 questionnaire was determined to be as effective as the standard 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in measuring patient remission. This determination came from a randomized controlled trial of 454 patients with major depressive disorders being treated in a primary care setting. The findings were published in the Nov. 22 Canadian Medical Assn. Journal.
The researchers suggested that the shorter, self-administered instrument could be useful to busy primary care physicians as an alternative to the lengthier HAMD-17 and other similar scales. Both scales covered similar ground asking questions about depressed mood, feelings of guilt and interest and pleasure derived from daily activities.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/12/12/hlbf1212.htm.
