title: The validity of questionnaire measures for assessing depression after stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Depression has been reported to occur frequently after stroke. The aim of the study was to assess the validity of questionnaire measures for screening for depression after stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional correlational study between questionnaire measures of mood and psychiatric interview.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital and community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Stroke patients were recruited from hospital wards and from a randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioural therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Beck Depression Inventory, Wakefield Depression Inventory, General Health Questionnaire 28 and Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Poor agreement was found between psychiatric diagnosis and questionnaire measures of mood. The sensitivity of the questionnaire measures was high, but specificity was low. No cut-off points with satisfactory sensitivity and specificity could be identified from ROC curves.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although questionnaire assessments of depression provide a satisfactory screening method, specificity values are too low to provide a basis for the diagnosis of depression. Measures need to be developed with higher specificity to facilitate screening for depression after stroke.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Nadina.Lincoln@nottingham.ac.uk
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Lincoln
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Nicholl
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Flannaghan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van der Gucht
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020521:Stroke / Q000523:psychology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires