Measurement of depression in Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis: validity of the Beck Depression Inventory.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To validate a Spanish version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Thirty-five patients with RA seen in our outpatient clinic were included. A semistructured psychiatric interview was applied, and the following instruments were administered the BDI, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index. Diagnostic properties of the BDI for both full-length and smaller versions taking out somatic items were compared against a gold standard. The gold standard for comparison was the diagnosis of depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised Criteria. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of RA patients had a diagnosis related to depression, most of which were major depression or dysthymia. The original BDI showed a high sensitivity (92%) and a high correlation with the HAD (r = 0.83). Exclusion of somatic items in modified versions of the BDI had a similar performance. CONCLUSIONS: The original BDI is a suitable instrument to detect depression in Mexican RA patients. Nevertheless, shorter versions without some of the somatic items also show an adequate performance.