Have you ever had a doubt if you have depression when you feel sadness, lack of interest in doing certain things or feeling empty? Maybe… But depression means showing these characteristics continuously. If you notice these signs in you without a break, through about 6-8 months, you may better visit a doctor. By making this description, we hope to discuss the depression symptom tests in a detailed manner
Doctors conduct several tests to diagnose depression.
Reasons
Various types of people suffer from depression in diverse ways due to several reasons.
Biological factors
Doctors can diagnose depression due to biological factors through blood tests, talking to family members and referring to family history because depression can be seen due to genetic causes.
Environmental Factors
Some environmental roots regarding depression are ;
- Violence
- Lack of care
- Abuse
- Poverty
- Overwork
- Poor diet
- Lack of sleep
Doctors can find out these through an interview with the patient.
Depression Diagnosing Tests
Depression diagnosing tests are crucial in diagnosing depression because it reveals the type of depression you’re suffering from.
Even though laboratory tests don’t do much in diagnosing depression, your doctor will run a blood test first. Through these physical exams, the doctor can find out whether the patient is suffering from health issues like Vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disorder, viral infections or underactive hormone levels. These physical exams are really important since your physical health can make a strong effect on your mental health.
Apart from physical health issues, there are psychological reasons that result in depression. In order to look into those, the doctor will ask you several questions about your mood, day-to-day life, behavior. And to look for genetic reasons, he will also ask you about your family’s psychological history too.
Generally, doctors ask to do a quiz in which there are in-depth questions regarding the above facts. You can rate the seriousness of the depression and the type of depression through these questionnaires.
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)
This is a very famous method used in many countries. Here, the seriousness of the depression is measured. There are 21 questions about mood, feelings of pessimism, suicidal thoughts, weight loss, sleeplessness, agitation, anxiety, feeling of guilt etc. questionnaire is scored on a 0-4 point scale. The seriousness of depression is increased with the total mark gets higher.
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI-1A, BDI-II)
This is also a widely used method and there are three kinds of BDI s according to the time they were published.
- BDI – 1961
This is the original BDI and this looks into how the patient has been feeling during the last week. There are 21 questions regarding that and higher scores indicate severe depression.
- BDI-1A – 1978
This is the new version came after the original one. Here questions are asked regarding last two weeks.
This was not very successful as there were many criticisms against this.
- BDI-II – 1996
Some changes are made in this latest edition of BDI. This is recommended for patients of 13 years and above.
Zung self-rating scale
This scale determines the level of depression for already diagnosed patients.
20-44 Normal Range
45-59 Mildly Depressed
60-69 Moderately Depressed
70 and above Severely Depressed
Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS
Here the acuteness of depression is rated due to mood swings. Questionnaires are marked on a 0-6 range and higher total indicates critical depression.