The time has come to stop rotations for the identification of structures in the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D17)
Braz. J. Psychiatry (São Paulo, 1999, Impr.)
; 35(4): 360-363, Oct-Dec. 2013. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-697328
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To use principal component analysis (PCA) to test the hypothesis that the items of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D17) have been selected to reflect depression disability, whereas some of the items are specific for sub-typing depression into typical vs. atypical depression.Method:
Our previous study using exploratory factor analysis on HAM-D17 has been re-analyzed with PCA and the results have been compared to a dataset from another randomized prospective study.Results:
PCA showed that the first principal component was a general factor covering depression disability with factor loadings very similar to those obtained in the STAR*D study. The second principal component was a bi-directional factor contrasting typical vs. atypical depression symptoms. Varimax rotation gave no new insight into the factor structure of HAM-D17.Conclusion:
With scales like the HAM-D17, it is very important to make a proper clinical interpretation of the PCA before attempting any form of exploratory factor analysis. For the HAM-D17, our results indicate that profile scores are needed because the total score of all 17 items in the HAM-D17 does not give sufficient information. .
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
LILACS
Main subject:
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
/
Depression
/
Depressive Disorder
Type of study:
Controlled clinical trial
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. J. Psychiatry (São Paulo, 1999, Impr.)
Journal subject:
Psychiatry
Year:
2013
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Denmark
Institution/Affiliation country:
Copenhagen University/DK