Comparing the use of the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory for screening depression in patients with chronic pain.

BACKGROUND Studies have shown that the validity of self-reported depression questionnaires may be influenced by somatic symptoms such as chronic pain. The purpose of this study was to compare the validity of two self-reported questionnaires, the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), for screening depression in patients with chronic pain. METHODS One hundred patients with chronic pain were enrolled and assessed using the TDQ, BDI, McGill Pain Questionnaire, and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Seventy-three of them were diagnosed with depressive disorders. Conventional validity indices of the TDQ and BDI were examined and compared. RESULTS Both the TDQ and BDI had satisfactory sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Our results showed a trend that the validity of the TDQ was better than that of the BDI, and the validity of the cognitive/affective components of the TDQ was significantly better than that of the BDI. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that the TDQ is superior to the BDI in detecting depression in patients with chronic pain in Taiwan.