Validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as a screening instrument of major depressive disorder among Japanese workers

Background: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is used at 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.