Assessing depression in fibromyalgia patients

Purpose. This study investigated the relationships among four methods of detecting depression in patients with fibromyalgia. Methods. Data were obtained from 100 women (mean age 43 years) who had been diagnosed with fibro‐myalgia. Instruments included a computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule (C‐DIS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), an adjusted “disease‐free” BDI (BDI‐A), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory depression subscale (MMPI‐D). Chance‐corrected concordance, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy among the four methods were calculated. Results. The C‐DIS detected 22% and BDI‐A 29% with current major depression. The BDI and MMPI‐D yielded higher estimates of 55% of the 44%, respectively. Agreement on the diagnosis among the four methods was significantly greater than chance. When compared with the C‐DIS, the BDI was the most sensitive instrument and the BDI‐A most specific. Conclusions. The C‐DIS and BDI‐A appear to be more reliable methods for determining the presence of major depression in women with fibromyalgia than are the MMPI‐D or standard BDI.