Assessment of mood measures for people with multiple sclerosis

In order to understand the complex nature of the relationship between depression, anxiety and multiple sclerosis (MS) valid assessments are needed. The prevalence of anxiety and depression reported varies widely dependent on the assessment used, although it is often reported as being high in people with MS. Despite the proposed high prevalence, depression and anxiety are often poorly identified in people with MS resulting in poor access to treatment.\ud \ud To address these issues the current study assessed the validity of three commonly used measures of depression and anxiety for people with MS. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were compared to a gold standard clinical interview in 21 people with MS. \ud \ud The results found that the BDI-II and HADS were valid measures to detect depression and anxiety in people with MS. An optimum cut off score of 18 for the BDI-II yields high sensitivity (89%) and high specificity (92%). An optimum cut off score of 10 for the HADS demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity for both the anxiety subscale (75%, 100%) and the depression subscale (78%, 92%). The BAI was not found to be valid. It is recommended that the measures BDI-II and HADS are used for screening for anxiety and depression in people with MS. \ud \ud By conducting screening it is hoped that people with MS will have greater access to treatment and future research can be conducted to better understand the relationship between depression, anxiety and MS