AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE 50:8–12 (2007) Validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as a Screening Instrument of Major Depressive Disorder Among Japanese Workers

workplaces to screen depressive disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the CES-D for depression in a workplace. Methods The CES-D was administered to 2,219 workers (84.2 % men; age 21–68 years) at a manufacturing company in Japan. Concomitantly all workers had an interview with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) as a gold standard for diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD). The validity was evaluated by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results The area under the ROC curve of the CES-D was 0.96 [95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 0.94–0.99]. The optimal cut-off score of MDD was 19 for screening. Conclusions The validity of CES-D is confirmed and it is a valid instrument for detecting MDD in working populations in Japan. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:8–12, 2007