Research quality assessment: Reliability and validation of the self-reported diagnosis of depression for participants of the Cohort of Universities of Minas Gerais (CUME project)

Abstract

Objective: Assess the reliability and validity of the self-reported diagnosis of depression of participants of the Cohort of Universities of Minas Gerais (CUME project). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 79 participants who answered the project's follow-up questionnaire in 2018. A team of four psychiatrists applied the DSM-5, using the structured clinical interview for mental disorders (SCID-5-CV) as a reference, in a face-to-face consultation with the participants, between October and November 2019. We calculated agreement (%) between self-reported and in-person psychiatrists medical depression diagnoses, sensitivity, specificity, false positives and negatives to both diagnoses, and performed the Kappa test. Results: Most participants were young adults (60.8% aged between 20 and 39 years), not in a stable union (54.4%), graduates (75.9%), currently employed (72.2%), non-smokers (69.6%), and sedentary/insufficiently active (69.6%). Besides, high proportions of participants reported binge drinking (36.7%) and inadequate intake of carbohydrates (50.6%) and lipids (78.5%). The self-reported and in-person psychiatrist's medical depression diagnoses did not differ statistically, with an agreement of 81%, the sensitivity of 80.6%, the specificity of 81.4%, and the Kappa value of 0.62. Limitations: The time between the self-report of depression and the psychiatrist's confirmatory diagnosis. Conclusion: The CUME project' participants self-reported diagnosis of depression displays good accuracy and is valid for utilization in studies that address this population's health outcome.

Keywords

• Depression
• Validation studies
• Psychiatry
• Public health