Measurement of depression in Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis: validity of the Beck Depression Inventory.
OBJECTIVE
To validate a Spanish version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).


METHODS
Thirty-five patients with RA seen in our outpatient clinic were included. A semistructured psychiatric interview was applied, and the following instruments were administered: the BDI, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index. Diagnostic properties of the BDI for both full-length and smaller versions taking out somatic items were compared against a gold standard. The gold standard for comparison was the diagnosis of depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised Criteria.


RESULTS
Thirty-seven percent of RA patients had a diagnosis related to depression, most of which were major depression or dysthymia. The original BDI showed a high sensitivity (92%) and a high correlation with the HAD (r = 0.83). Exclusion of somatic items in modified versions of the BDI had a similar performance.


CONCLUSIONS
The original BDI is a suitable instrument to detect depression in Mexican RA patients. Nevertheless, shorter versions without some of the somatic items also show an adequate performance.
Suárez-Mendoza
A A
AA
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico DF, Mexico.
Cardiel
M H
MH
Caballero-Uribe
C V
CV
Ortega-Soto
H A
HA
Márquez-Marín
M
M
D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results