Screening for depression in chronic hemodialysis patients

This study investigates the prevalence of depression in chronic dialysis patients study with a self-administered survey. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) was chosen as the screening tool. A positive screening test for depression is a BDI-II score of greater than 11. In 53 patients, 58% had a positive screening test for depression; 38% scored fifteen or higher indicating severe depression. Forty-two percent of patients had a negative screening test of 10 or less. Patients not screened previously for depression was 58%. More than one-fifth of patients previously screened for depression had initiated the evaluation. Depression is under-diagnosed in chronic dialysis patients.