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Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale using optimal test assembly methods: Development of the EPDS-Dep-5.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Harel, D; Levis, B; Ishihara, M; Levis, AW; Vigod, SN; Howard, LM; Thombs, BD; Benedetti, A; DEPRESsion Screening Data (DEPRESSD) EPDS Collaboration,
Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica
April 2021

This study used a large database to develop a reliable and valid shortened form of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), a self-report questionnaire used for depression screening in pregnancy and postpartum, based on objective criteria.Item responses from the 10-item EPDS were obtained from 5157 participants (765 major depression cases) from 22 primary screening accuracy studies that compared the EPDS to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID). Unidimensionality of the EPDS latent construct was verified using confirmatory factor analysis, and an item response theory model was fit. Optimal test assembly (OTA) methods identified a maximally informative shortened form for each possible scale length between 1 and 9 items. The final shortened form was selected based on pre-specified validity and reliability criteria and non-inferiority of screening accuracy of the EPDS as compared to the SCID.A 5-item short form of the EPDS (EPDS-Dep-5) was selected. The EPDS-Dep-5 had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82. Sensitivity and specificity of the EPDS-Dep-5 for a cutoff of 4 or greater were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.73, 0.89) and 0.86 (95% CI, 0.80, 0.90) and were statistically non-inferior to the EPDS. The correlation of total scores with the full EPDS was high (r = 0.91).The EPDS-Dep-5 is a valid short form with minimal loss of information when compared to the full-length EPDS. The EPDS-Dep-5 was developed with OTA methods using objective, pre-specified criteria, but the approach is data-driven and exploratory. Thus, there is a need to replicate results of this study in different populations.

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Published In

Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica

DOI

EISSN

1600-0447

ISSN

0001-690X

Publication Date

April 2021

Volume

143

Issue

4

Start / End Page

348 / 362

Related Subject Headings

  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Pregnancy
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Depressive Disorder, Major
  • Depression, Postpartum
  • 52 Psychology
 

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Harel, D., Levis, B., Ishihara, M., Levis, A. W., Vigod, S. N., Howard, L. M., … DEPRESsion Screening Data (DEPRESSD) EPDS Collaboration, . (2021). Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale using optimal test assembly methods: Development of the EPDS-Dep-5. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 143(4), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13272
Harel, Daphna, Brooke Levis, Miyabi Ishihara, Alexander W. Levis, Simone N. Vigod, Louise M. Howard, Brett D. Thombs, Andrea Benedetti, and Andrea DEPRESsion Screening Data (DEPRESSD) EPDS Collaboration. “Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale using optimal test assembly methods: Development of the EPDS-Dep-5.Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 143, no. 4 (April 2021): 348–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13272.
Harel D, Levis B, Ishihara M, Levis AW, Vigod SN, Howard LM, et al. Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale using optimal test assembly methods: Development of the EPDS-Dep-5. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2021 Apr;143(4):348–62.
Harel, Daphna, et al. “Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale using optimal test assembly methods: Development of the EPDS-Dep-5.Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, vol. 143, no. 4, Apr. 2021, pp. 348–62. Epmc, doi:10.1111/acps.13272.
Harel D, Levis B, Ishihara M, Levis AW, Vigod SN, Howard LM, Thombs BD, Benedetti A, DEPRESsion Screening Data (DEPRESSD) EPDS Collaboration. Shortening the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale using optimal test assembly methods: Development of the EPDS-Dep-5. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2021 Apr;143(4):348–362.
Journal cover image

Published In

Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica

DOI

EISSN

1600-0447

ISSN

0001-690X

Publication Date

April 2021

Volume

143

Issue

4

Start / End Page

348 / 362

Related Subject Headings

  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Pregnancy
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Depressive Disorder, Major
  • Depression, Postpartum
  • 52 Psychology