[Diagnosis and severity assessment of patients with depression]

Abstract

Clinically, depressive patients are increasing. It is very important but difficult to differentiate pathological depressive state from normal depressive reaction. In order to diagnose pathological depressive state (i.e. depression) and assess the severity, several diagnostic criteria and assessment scales for depression are available though most of them are provisional with limitations. In this review, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision(DSM-IV-TR), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) are introduced and discussed. DSM-IV-TR is used for diagnosis and severity assessment of depression whereas HAM-D and MADRS can be used for only severity assessment.