Use of the long and short forms of the Depression in the Medically Ill questionnaire in Spanish population

Abstract

This study aimed to translate the original (DMI-18) and the short (DMI-10) version of the Depression in the Medically Ill into Spanish, validate them and determine the best cut-off points for detecting depression. A back-translation procedure was used. Patients with somatic disorders (N=366) completed the translated DMI-18 and another depression questionnaire. Of these, 167 were also assessed by a mental health professional. Reliability (Cronbach alpha > 0.90) and convergent validity (r > 0.74) were satisfactory. The CFA results supported the one factor model (depression). The best cut-off of the Spanish version was 15 for the DMI-18 and 9 for the DMI-10. Sensitivity and specificity were 93% and 73% for the DMI-18 and 87% and 74% for the DMI-10. Our data confirm the validity of the Spanish-language versions of both DMI versions. Their use in a clinical context may help non-psychiatric professionals to detect affective comorbidities in their patients.