Screening for Depressive Symptoms: Validation of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in a Multiethnic Group of Patients With Diabetes in Singapore

• Published in: Diabetes care Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 1118 - 1119
• Main Authors: Stahl, Dorit, Sum, Chee Fang, Lum, Shin Si, Liow, Pei Hsiang, Chan, Yiong Huak, Verma, Swapna, Chua, Hong Choon, Chong, Siow Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria, VA American Diabetes Association 01.06.2008
• Subjects: adults; Biological and medical sciences; Care and treatment; Chronic illnesses; Demographic aspects; Depression; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - prevention & control; Depression, Mental; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus - psychology; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Diabetics; Diagnosis; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; epidemiological studies; epidemiology; Ethnic Groups; Ethnicity; Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance; Humans; Interviews as Topic; inventories; Language proficiency; Mass Screening; Mass Screening - methods; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Metabolic diseases; methods; Miscellaneous; nationalities and ethnic groups; patients; Personality Inventory; Prevalence; prevention & control; Psychological aspects; psychology; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Reproducibility of Results; screening; Sensitivity and Specificity; Singapore; Singapore - epidemiology; Studies; Asia; Singapore; Endocrinopathy; Mood disorder; Human; Crosscultural study; Nutrition; Diabetes mellitus; Depression; Patient; Metabolic diseases; Psychometrics; Medical screening; Ethnic group; Test validation; Endocrinology
• ISSN: 0149-5992; 1935-5548; 1935-5548
• DOI: 10.2337/dc07-2019

OBJECTIVE:--We determined the reliability and validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) against the DSM-IV-based diagnostic inventory, Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), in a multiethnic sample of adult subjects with diabetes attending a diabetes center in Singapore. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--A total of 522 subjects (74.7% Chinese, 11.1% Malay, and 14.2% Indian) completed culturally adapted versions of the CES-D; 291 subjects were administered the SCAN inventory. RESULTS:--The CES-D (cutoff score 16) showed high negative predictive values of more than 90% in all three ethnic groups. The prevalence of depressive symptoms (CES-D) and depression (SCAN) was significantly different between the Chinese and Indian subjects (CES-D 27.4 vs. 43.2%, P = 0.006); (SCAN 15.0 vs. 31.1%, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:--The CES-D proved to be a reliable instrument for identifying patients with depressive symptoms in the multiethnic setting of this study.