Measurement of depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the validity of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) in a population of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


METHODS
Forty-nine patients with moderate to severe COPD were examined using the ICD-10 criteria for depression. The mean age of the patients was 71 years and 33 (64%) were women. Forty-six (94%) of the patients were also evaluated using the 17-item HDS including the six-item Hamilton Depression subscale (HDSS). Internal and external validity were measured using factor analysis, Cronbach Coefficient alpha, Loevinger coefficient of homogeneity, correlation analysis and ROC-curves.


RESULTS
Twenty-three (47%) of the patients were depressed according to the ICD-10 criteria for depression. The HDSS but not the HDS showed a good internal validity. An acceptable external validity was furthermore shown for the HDSS.


CONCLUSIONS
The HDSS can be recommended as a suitable depression rating scale for COPD patients.
Stage
Kurt B
KB
Department of Psychiatry, Odense University Hospital, Denmark. kurtstage@yahoo.com
Middelboe
Thomas
T
Pisinger
Charlotta
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies