Diagnostic interview for genetic studies (DIGS): inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the French version

• Published in: European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience Vol. 249; no. 4; pp. 174 - 179
• Main Authors: Preisig, M, Fenton, B T, Matthey, M L, Berney, A, Ferrero, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Springer Nature B.V 01.08.1999
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; France; Genetic Testing - methods; Humans; Language; Male; Middle Aged; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Observer Variation; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - standards; Psychotic Disorders - diagnosis; Reproducibility of Results; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; France
• ISSN: 0940-1334; 1433-8491
• DOI: 10.1007/s004060050084

The National Institute of Mental Health developed the semi-structured Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS) for the assessment of major mood and psychotic disorders and their spectrum conditions. The DIGS was translated into French in a collaborative effort of investigators from sites in France and Switzerland. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the French version have been established in a clinical sample in Lausanne. Excellent inter-rater reliability was found for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and unipolar schizoaffective disorder while fair inter-rater reliability was demonstrated for bipolar schizoaffective disorder. Using a six-week test-retest interval, reliability for all diagnoses was found to be fair to good with the exception of bipolar schizoaffective disorder. The lower test-retest reliability was the result of a relatively long test-retest interval that favored incomplete symptom recall. In order to increase reliability for lifetime diagnoses in persons not currently affected, best-estimate procedures using additional sources of diagnostic information such as medical records and reports from relatives should supplement DIGS information in family-genetic studies. Within such a procedure, the DIGS appears to be a useful part of data collection for genetic studies on major mood disorders and schizophrenia in French-speaking populations.