Validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as a screening instrument of major depressive disorder among Japanese workers.
BACKGROUND
The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is used at workplaces to screen depressive disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the CES-D for depression in a workplace.


METHODS
The CES-D was administered to 2,219 workers (84.2% men; age 21-68 years) at a manufacturing company in Japan. Concomitantly all workers had an interview with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) as a gold standard for diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD). The validity was evaluated by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.


RESULTS
The area under the ROC curve of the CES-D was 0.96 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.94-0.99]. The optimal cut-off score of MDD was 19 for screening.


CONCLUSIONS
The validity of CES-D is confirmed and it is a valid instrument for detecting MDD in working populations in Japan.
Wada
Koji
K
Department of Occupational Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan. kwada-sgy@umin.ac.jp
Tanaka
Katsutoshi
K
Theriault
Gilles
G
Satoh
Toshihiko
T
Mimura
Masaru
M
Miyaoka
Hitoshi
H
Aizawa
Yoshiharu
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017678:Sex Distribution