Defining remission in depression: comparison of depression rating scales with remission from depression questionnaire

Objective: The main aim of treating patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) is to achieve remission. Symptom-based definition of remission may not adequately meet depressed patients’ treatment expectations. “Remission from Depression Questionnaire” (RDQ) evaluates not only symptoms of depression but also other psychiatric symptoms of patients beside positive mental health, functionality, perception of well-being, coping and life satisfaction. The aim of this study is to compare remission definition and assessment criteria in depression using RDQ and other common clinical assessment tools as well as assessing the reliability and validity of RDQ-Turkish version.

Method: Demographic and clinical data of 106 patients meeting diagnostic criteria of MDD were collected prospectively. “RDQ”, “Hamilton Depression Rating Scale” (HDRS), “Beck Depression Inventory” (BDI), “Beck Anxiety Inventory” (BAI) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire Brief Form (WHOQoL BREF) were administered.

Results: Chronbach’s α and the test-retest reliability of the Turkish version of the RDQ were 0.945 and 0.908, respectively. The Turkish version of the overall RDQ scores and subscales were significantly correlated with HDRS, BDI, BAI and WHOQoL-BREF. The total RDQ scores and RDQ subscales scores of patients in remission (HDRS<=7) were significantly lower than the patients who were not in remission (HDRS>7). When a cutoff value 43 for RDQ was used in comparison to the cutoff value 7 of HDRS, sensitivity was found as 86.7% and specificity was found as 73.5%.

Conclusion: Our findings showed the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of RDQ, which may be an alternative tool in assessing remission in MDD.