Detecting depression in Chinese stroke patients: a pilot study comparing four screening instruments.
OBJECTIVE
To determine which screening instrument is most suitable for detecting depression in Chinese stroke patients.


METHODS
A random sample of 60 Chinese subjects recruited from consecutively admitted patients with first-ever stroke to a rehabilitation facility were assessed using the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Psychiatric diagnoses, which served as a benchmark for the comparison of screening instruments, were made using the SCID-DSM-III-R. Rating instruments were compared with respect to response rate, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.


RESULTS
The VAMS was not useful in screening for depression in Chinese stroke patients while both the HADS and the GDS demonstrated satisfactory accuracy in detecting depression in Chinese stroke patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Screening instruments for poststroke depression are culture-specific and even scales well established in other cultures should be tested before being used in clinical practice and research.
Tang
Wai Kwong
WK
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Hong Kong, China. tangwk@cuhk.edu.hk
Ungvari
Gabor S
GS
Chiu
Helen F K
HF
Sze
Kai-hoi
KH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020521:Stroke / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation