Application of symptom checklist for screening major depression by annual health examinations: a cross-validity study in the workplace.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a symptom checklist to detect major depression, 1424 subjects completed a pre-existing 22-item general symptom checklist at periodic health examinations. All subjects were interviewed to enable confirmatory diagnosis of major depression. Nine out of the 22 symptoms were more frequently reported in the subjects with major depression than in those without such a disorder. The results were confirmed in 434 new subjects receiving the same intervention the following year. The results of this study suggest the effectiveness of symptom checklists as tools to detect subjects with depression. Among them, the nine-item checklist has an advantage in practical use for its simplicity.