en
Scientific article
Open access
English

Usefulness of a single-item measure of depression to predict mortality: the GAZEL prospective cohort study

Published inEuropean Journal of Public health, vol. 22, no. 5, p. 643-647
Publication date2012
Abstract

Background: It remains unknown whether short measures of depression perform as well as long measures in predicting adverse outcomes such as mortality. The present study aims to examine the predictive value of a single-item measure of depression for mortality. Methods: A total of 14 185 participants of the GAZEL cohort completed the 20-item Center-for-Epidemiologic-Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale in 1996. One of these items (I felt depressed) was used as a single-item measure of depression. All-cause mortality data were available until 30 September 2009, a mean follow-up period of 12.7 years with a total of 650 deaths. Results: In Cox regression model adjusted for baseline socio-demographic characteristics, a one-unit increase in the single-item score (range 0–3) was associated with a 25% higher risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI: 13–37%, P < 0.001). Further adjustment for health-related behaviours and physical chronic diseases reduced this risk by 36% and 8%, respectively. After adjustment for all these variables, every one-unit increase in the single-item score predicted a 15% increased risk of death (95% CI: 5–27%, P < 0.01). There is also an evidence of a dose–reponse relationship between reponse scores on the single-item measure of depression and mortality. Conclusion: This study shows that a single-item measure of depression is associated with an increased risk of death. Given its simplicity and ease of administration, a very simple single-item measure of depression might be useful for identifying middle-aged adults at risk for elevated depressive symptoms in large epidemiological studies and clinical settings.

Keywords
  • Adult
  • Cause of Death
  • Depression/complications/diagnosis/mortality
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • France/epidemiology
  • Health Behavior
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Prospective Studies
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Risk Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
Affiliation Not a UNIGE publication
Citation (ISO format)
LEFÈVRE, Thomas et al. Usefulness of a single-item measure of depression to predict mortality: the GAZEL prospective cohort study. In: European Journal of Public health, 2012, vol. 22, n° 5, p. 643–647. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckr103
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal1464-360X
65views
31downloads

Technical informations

Creation2021/05/31 11:51:00
First validation2021/05/31 11:51:00
Update time2023/03/16 02:10:14
Status update2023/03/16 02:10:13
Last indexation2024/01/17 15:38:20
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack