title: Presentation and validation of the multiple sclerosis depression rating scale: a test specifically devised to investigate affective disorders in multiple sclerosis patients.
abstract: Accurate diagnosis of depression in patients affected by MS is important, as it may be a cause of reduced quality of life and increased suicide risk. We present a new scale, the Multiple Sclerosis Depression Rating Scale (MSDRS), and assess its diagnostic accuracy in comparison to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). A total of 94 MS participants were classified as non-depressed (N = 44) or affected by mood disorder associated to MS with depressive manifestations (MSD-MDDM; N = 37) or with a major depression-like episode (MSD-MDL; N = 13). Each participant underwent a psychiatric interview, MSDRS, and BDI; diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using area under the ROC curve (AROC). The diagnostic accuracy of MSDRS and BDI was comparable when diagnosing both MSD-MDDM and MSD-MDL (AROC respectively 0.8998 and 0.8659); the MSDRS showed higher accuracy for the diagnosis of MSD-MDL (AROC respectively 0.9278 and 0.8314; p = .038). The MSDRS may be a reliable tool for the diagnosis of depression in MS.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Neuropsychology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. davide.quaranta@edu.rm.unicatt.it
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quaranta
authors.forename: Camillo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zinno
authors.forename: Agata Katia
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Patanella
authors.forename: Maria Josè
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piccininni
authors.forename: Anna Paola
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Batocchi
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gainotti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity