Validity and utility of the Japanese version of the WHO-Five Well-Being Index in the context of detecting suicidal ideation in elderly community residents.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and the utility of the Japanese version of the WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5-J) in the context of detecting suicidal ideation in elderly community residents.


METHODS
A sample of 696 subjects aged 70 years or over who completed a set of questionnaires was examined.


RESULTS
Cronbach's alpha was 0.87 and Loevinger's coefficient was 0.64. The total score was significantly correlated with the number of cohabitants, the number of physical illnesses, physical functioning, instrumental activities of daily living, and depressive symptoms. Subjects with suicidal ideation had significantly lower scores on the WHO-5-J. The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the scale significantly discriminated the subjects with suicidal ideation. When combined with the assessment of a lack of perceived social support (PSS), a standard cut-off criterion of "a total score < or = 12 or answering 0 or 1 to any of the five items" more appropriately identified elderly subjects with suicidal ideation: sensitivity = 87%, specificity = 75%, negative predictive value = 99%, and positive predictive value = 10%.


CONCLUSIONS
In combination with PSS, the scale has predictive utility to detect suicidal ideation in elderly community residents.
Awata
S
S
Division of Neuropsychiatry and Center for Dementia, Sendai City Hospital, Japan. awata-thk@umin.ac.jp
Bech
P
P
Koizumi
Y
Y
Seki
T
T
Kuriyama
S
S
Hozawa
A
A
Ohmori
K
K
Nakaya
N
N
Matsuoka
H
H
Tsuji
I
I
D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003710:Demography; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007802:Language; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014944:World Health Organization