Population health surveys and screening tools for depressive disorders: aims and uses

The article by Fischer and colleagues,1 based on data from the second wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS-2), proposes the use of a Bayesian framework to account for the ‘imperfect diagnostic accuracy’ of the eight-item version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), and to improve estimations of the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD). It is well-known that estimating the prevalence of specific mental disorders directly using the results from screening tools (ie, without attending at the possible false positives and negatives) could lead to overestimations.2 It should also be noted that the term ‘depression’ is used in the literature for describing a broad spectrum of conditions, from MDD to a range of other mental health conditions and symptoms, and that clarity is essential to avoid misunderstandings. In our own study,3 we used a broad definition of depression (including MDD, dysthymia...

Source: Evidence-Based Mental Health - June 26, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Arias de la Torre, J., Ronaldson, A., Serrano-Blanco, A., Martin, V., Bellon, J. A., Valderas, J. M., Alonso, J. Tags: Open access Correspondence Source Type: research