Two methods of psychiatric interviewing: telephone and face-to-face

Interview Modality

Objectives:To contrast the costs and quality of data collected in person, by telephone, and by self-administered questionnaires in a sample of older persons. Methods: Data collected via interviews with 586 women are contrasted on four dimensions. Results:The cost of data collection was 25% to 30% lower for the self-administered mode than for other modes. Response rates were highest for the inperson interviewand lowest for the self-administered questionnaire. The rate of missing data was highest for the self-administered questionnaire. Significant differences in response effects were found across mode, with respondants to self-administered questionnaires profiling the poorest. Discussion:The costs and quality of data collected by various modes are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the physical and mental well-being of older people.

Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated features among children in France

BACKGROUND

Earlier studies point to the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to be similar around the world. There is, however, a wide variety in estimates. The prevalence of ADHD in youth has never been examined in France.

METHOD

Starting with 18 million telephone numbers, 7,912 numbers are randomly selected. Among the 4,186 eligible families, 1,012 (24.2%) are successfully recruited. A telephone interview is administered to all families about a child in the 6 to 12 age range. It covered family living situation, school performance, symptoms of ADHD, conduct disorder (CD), and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), and other features of ADHD.

RESULTS

The prevalence of ADHD in France is between 3.5% and 5.6%. The population prevalence of treatment for ADHD is 3.5%. ADHD youth are more likely to be men than women, and, compared to non-ADHD children, ADHD children are more likely to have CD and ODD. Having ADHD is associated with a family history of the disorder. The ADHD youth are more likely to have had learning difficulties, to have repeated a grade, and to be functioning academically below grade level.

CONCLUSIONS

The epidemiology of ADHD in French children is similar to the epidemiology of ADHD in other countries. The disorder occurs in between 3.5% to 5.6% of youth and is more common among boys than among girls. The authors replicate the well-known association of ADHD with CD, ODD, and indices of school failure. The impact of ADHD symptoms on school performance highlights the importance of screening for such symptoms in schools.

Depressive, anxiety, and somatoform disorders in primary care: prevalence and recognition

Recent studies emphasize the negative impact of comorbidity on the course of depression. If undiagnosed, depression and comorbidity contribute to high medical utilization. We aimed to assess (1) prevalences of depression alone and with comorbidity (anxiety/somatoform disorders) in primary care, (2) coexistence of anxiety/somatoform disorders in depressive patients, and (3) diagnostic validity of two screeners regarding depression with versus without comorbidity. We examined 394 primary care outpatients using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and the Well-Being Index (WHO-5). We conducted configurational frequency analyses to identify nonrandom configurations of the disorders and receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-analyses to assess diagnostic validity of the screeners. Point prevalence of any depressive disorder was 22.8%; with at least one comorbid disorder, 15%; and with two comorbid conditions, 6.1%, which significantly exceeded expected percentage (0.9%, P< or =.0001). Depression without comorbidity occurred significantly less often than expected by chance (P< or =.0007). Comorbidity of depressive and anxiety or somatoform disorders was associated with a high odds ratio (6.25). The screeners were comparable regarding their diagnostic validity for depression with [GHQ-12: area under the curve (AUC)=0.86; WHO-5: AUC=0.88] and without comorbidity (GHQ-12: AUC=0.84; WHO-5: AUC=0.86). It can be concluded that comorbidity between depression and anxiety/somatoform disorders in primary care may occur much more frequently than expected. These results confirm assumptions that the current division between depression and anxiety might be debatable. Validity of screeners tested in our study was not affected by comorbid conditions (e.g., anxiety or somatoform disorders).

Administering the MADRS by telephone or face-to-face: a validity study

BACKGROUND

The Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) is a frequently used observer-rated depression scale. In the present study, a telephonic rating was compared with a face-to-face rating in 66 primary care patients with minor or mild-major depression. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of the administration by telephone. Additional objective was to study the validity of the first item, 'apparent sadness', the only item purely based on observation.

METHODS

The present study was a validity study. During an in-person interview at the patient's home a trained interviewer administered the MADRS. A few days later the MADRS was administered again, but now by telephone and by a : Mean total score on the in-person administration was 24.0 (SD = 11.1), and on the telephone administration 23.5 (SD = 10.4). The ICC for the full scale was 0.65. Homogeneity analysis showed that the observation item 'apparent sadness' fitted well into the scale.

CONCLUSION

The full MADRS, including the observation item 'apparent sadness', can be administered reliably by telephone.

Comparability of telephone and face-to-face interviews in assessing patients with posttraumatic stress disorder

INTRODUCTION

Structured clinical interviews are very important in the area of mental health research and services. Prior research comparing the reliability and validity of face-to-face and phone interviews has found high levels of agreement. This project compared the results of face-to-face and phone interviews for two widely used measures: The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) for assessing posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic status and symptom severity and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D) to determine the severity of major depressive disorder.

METHOD

Subjects were 34 veterans recruited from applicants to the PTSD Assessment and Intervention program at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. Order of interview (in-person or phone) was determined using random assignment within a counterbalanced framework. After attaining satisfactory levels of interrater reliability, four clinicians independently and blindly evaluated the subjects.

RESULTS

Pearson correlation coefficients between face-to-face and phone interviews revealed high consistency (CAPS r = 0.745, HAM-D r = 0.748). The level of agreement between the two methods was 82% for the CAPS and 85% for the HAM-D. Diagnostic thresholds for the CAPS and HAM-D, after adjusting for the interview order and time elapsed between interviews, did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.31 for the CAPS and p = 0.96 for the HAM-D). High levels of agreement were achieved between the two methods (kappa = 0.75 for the CAPS using a cutoff of 65 and 0.70 for the HAM-D). The high sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values support the reliability of the phone-interview method.

CONCLUSION

Phone interviews are a reliable method of interviewing for use in assessing patients for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.

Use of brief depression screening tools in primary care: consideration of heterogeneity in performance in different patient groups

Heterogeneity of performance of screening tools in different patient groups has rarely been considered in the literature on depression screening in primary care. The objectives of the present study were to assess and to compare diagnostic accuracy of three screening questionnaires (Brief Patient Health Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire-12, WHO-5) in identifying depression across various patient subpopulations and to assess the accuracy of the unaided clinical assessment of primary care physicians in the same subgroups. We conducted a cross-sectional validation study in 448 primary care patients. Two-by-two tables as well as receiver operating characteristics were applied. Results indicated that diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity) of the three screening instruments as well as of the clinical diagnoses differed in the various patient groups. Superiority of one screening tool over the other depends on the subgroup considered. Gender, age, form (subtype), and severity of depression influence the test characteristics of a screening tool. This should be considered if routine depression screening should be widely introduced. Of course, the benefit of routine screening also depends on efforts made for treatment and monitoring of patients in whom depression was diagnosed.

Comparability of telephone and In-person structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) diagnoses

The SCID was administered twice, once by telephone and once in person (1 week later) to 41 college age men. For major depression (lifetime k =.64, current k =.66), results indicated good agreement. The lifetime occurrence estimate based on the telephone SCID diagnosis was lower than the in-person SCID estimate. Kappas for specific diagnoses were calculable for simple phobia (lifetime k =. 47, current k = .03) and social phobia (lifetime k =.29). Base rates were less than 10% for all individual diagnoses except lifetime major depression; therefore, the kappas may be unstable. For all diagnoses where there were any positive cases, percentages of negative agreement and specificity were high, whereas percentages of positive agreement and sensitivity were lower. Overall agreement was fair for specific lifetime diagnoses but poor for current diagnoses. These results suggest caution in assuming comparability of in-person and telephone SCID diagnoses. Circumstances under which a telephone SCID may be useful and ways to improve reliability are discussed.

Time-tradeoff values and standard-gamble utilities assessed during telephone interviews versus face-to-face interviews

The purpose of this study was to compare time-tradeoff values and standard-gamble utilities obtained during telephone interviews with those obtained through face-to-face interviews. Sixty-five patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease completed both interviews. One week prior to the telephone interview, the patients received by mail a questionnaire in which the value and utility measures were presented in writing. The face-to-face interviews used the same questions, but the interviewer used visual aids. The mean time-tradeoff values were 0.84 (SD 0.20) vs 0.86 (SD 0.17) for the telephone and face-to-face interviews, respectively (p = 0.31). The mean standard-gamble utilities were 0.93 (SD 0.16) vs 0.92 (SD 0.17) for the telephone and face-to-face interviews, respectively (p = 0.26). In conclusion, telephone interviews yield similar time-tradeoff values and standard-gamble utilities compared with face-to-face interviews, suggesting that telephone interviews can replace face-to-face interviews.

A diagnostic aid for detecting (DSM-IV) mental disorders in primary care

This study was designed to develop and validate a new computerized version of the Symptom Driven Diagnostic System for Primary Care (SDDS-PC) and examine its feasibility in primary care practice. One thousand and one patients (ages 18-70) coming for routine care to Kaiser-Permanente were screened on a self-administered symptom scale for major depression, alcohol and drug dependence, generalized anxiety, panic and obsessive compulsive disorders, and suicidal behavior. The screen was followed up by a brief diagnostic interview, administered by a nurse, which yielded a one-page summary of positive symptoms and a provisional computer-generated diagnosis for the physician. The physician reviewed the summary results and made a diagnosis. The nurse and physician were blind to the screen results. Patients were reinterviewed within 96 hours by a mental health professional (MHP) blind to previous results. The nurses' interviews ranged between 1.5 and 3.5 minutes for a screened positive diagnosis. Agreement between the nurse and physician diagnoses was excellent to moderate. Disagreement was usually in the direction of the physician ruling out major mental disorders in favor of subsyndromal or medical explanations. Only rarely did physicians diagnose disorders not detected by the nurse interview. Agreement between physician and MHP was moderate. Physicians using the SDDS-PC seldom made diagnoses that were not confirmed by the independent assessment of the MHP. The SDDS-PC may facilitate recognition of psychiatric disorders and minimize the physician's time in information gathering.

A comparison of mail and telephone interview strategies for mental health surveys

The high cost of mental health surveys of the general population has sparked interest in less costly research methods. Two low-cost mental health survey strategies (mail and telephone) were compared in terms of cost, response rate and quality of data obtained. A total of 1,074 persons agreed to participate in the study as a sample, one-half by telephone and the other half by mail. They completed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule Self-Administered, a questionnaire designed to be self-administered, which was used to assess specific mental disorders and to evaluate risk factors. In addition, 239 respondents who were selected according to the presence or absence of specific diagnoses were reinterviewed face-to-face using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule as an external criterion. The telephone method yielded a better response rate (15% higher) and better control over answers (for example, less missing data). The mail strategy was less expensive and appeared to yield data of slightly better quality, particularly for respondents suffering from anxiety disorders.

Agreement between face-to-face and telephone-administered versions of the depression section of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule

To increase the feasibility of identifying persons with depressive disorders in a large-scale health policy study, we tested the concordance between face-to-face and telephone-administered versions of the depression section of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). This section was administered over the telephone to 230 English-speaking participants of the Los Angeles site of the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program (ECA) after their completion of a face-to-face interview (Wave II) with the full DIS. Time lag between interviews was 3 months, on the average. Persons with depressive symptoms were oversampled. Using the face-to-face version as the criterion measure, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the telephone version for identifying the presence or absence of any lifetime unipolar depressive disorder were 71, 89, and 63 percent, respectively; the kappa statistic was 0.57, and agreement was unbiased. The comparable figures for concordance between two face-to-face interviews administered one year apart to the same subjects were 54, 89, and 60 percent and 0.45 (kappa), respectively. Thus, disagreement was due primarily to test-retest unreliability of the DIS rather than the method of administration.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of cimetidine and pirenzepine in nonulcer dyspepsia

Nonulcer dyspepsia remains a difficult disorder to treat because it is a heterogeneous syndrome. Once patients with the irritable bowel syndrome, esophagitis, and other organic diseases are excluded, there remain patients with dyspepsia of unknown cause (termed "essential dyspepsia") and patients with dyspepsia plus symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux without esophagitis. The aim of this study was to determine whether cimetidine or pirenzepine is efficacious in relieving the symptoms of these latter subgroups. Sixty-two consecutive patients were studied who had chronic upper abdominal pain or nausea where endoscopy had shown no evidence of peptic ulceration, esophagitis, or malignancy; 47 had essential dyspepsia, and 15 had dyspepsia plus gastroesophageal reflux. They were initially randomized to either cimetidine or placebo, or pirenzepine or placebo. Patients continued each medication for 1 mo, and, after a washout period, crossed over when again symptomatic; 51 patients completed cimetidine and placebo, and 50 completed pirenzepine and placebo. The results showed that cimetidine was superior to placebo in decreasing the number of upper abdominal pain episodes weekly and the severity of pain, but the absolute improvement was small. Pirenzepine was not superior to placebo in decreasing symptoms.

Association of anxiety, neuroticism, and depression with dyspepsia of unknown cause. A case-control study

Non-ulcer dyspepsia, also termed "nervous dyspepsia," is a heterogeneous syndrome: ulcerlike symptoms can occur with the irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux, and other disorders. In addition, there is a significant subgroup of non-ulcer dyspepsia sufferers who have no disorder associated with, and no known cause for, their dyspepsia, and the dyspepsia in this subgroup is given the provisional name of "essential dyspepsia." The aim of this study was to assess if psychological factors are associated with patients who present with essential dyspepsia. Psychometric testing was carried out on 76 essential dyspepsia patients (including 18 patients with gastroduodenitis), 76 randomly selected dyspepsia-free community controls (matched for age, sex, and social class), and 66 duodenal ulcer controls. Essential dyspepsia patients were retested a mean of 3.6 mo later. Using stepwise regression analysis, the initial scores of essential dyspepsia and duodenal ulcer subjects showed them to be more neurotic, anxious, and depressed than community controls; these abnormalities persisted in essential dyspepsia patients on retesting and were not affected by the symptom status. It is concluded that essential dyspepsia patients who present for investigation with symptoms are more likely to be persistently neurotic, anxious, and depressed than dyspepsia-free controls, and this is unrelated to the presence of symptoms, but the association may not be of major clinical significance, as the numerical differences observed between groups were small and the correlation coefficients were low.

Major life event stress and dyspepsia of unknown cause: a case control study

Stress is purported to be a major cause of non-ulcer dyspepsia, defined here as dyspepsia where peptic ulcer, oesophagitis, and cancer are excluded by endoscopy. There is a subgroup of non-ulcer dyspepsia patients who have no definite cause for their dyspepsia, provisionally termed essential dyspepsia. The aim of the present study was to determine if stress, as measured by major life events, was associated with essential dyspepsia. The frequency of life events during the year before the diagnosis of essential dyspepsia in 68 consecutive patients was compared with the frequency of these events over the same time period in 68 randomly selected age and sex-matched community controls. The mean number of events and the associated life change and distress scores were similar for both groups. Concerning individual events, patients reported more minor personal illness (p = 0.008). When events were broadly categorised, only one difference was found - more controls reported bereavements (p = 0.008). Age, sex, social class, and the duration of dyspepsia did not influence the number and nature of events. Although the study suggests that stress, as measured by major life events, is not associated with dyspepsia of unknown cause, it does not exclude the fact that other forms of stress, especially that associated with chronic difficulties, may be relevant.

The association between non-ulcer dyspepsia and other gastrointestinal disorders

Non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) is defined as dyspepsia in which investigation shows no evidence of focal gastroduodenal disease or oesophagitis. The aim of the present study was to determine the proportion of NUD patients with other identifiable diseases. We interviewed 327 consecutive patients who had at least 1 month of dyspepsia before a panendoscopy that showed no evidence of oesophagitis, malignancy, or peptic ulcer. Symptoms were assessed by a structured history questionnaire. The existence of gallstones was excluded radiologically. Of the subjects studied, 75 (23%) had irritable bowel syndrome and 71 (22%) gastro-oesophageal reflux, whereas 63 (19%) had both, 25 (8%) had aerophagy, and 14 (4%) had gallstones. Of the remaining 79 patients (24%) 6 had duodenitis and 10 gastritis, whereas 1 had both. Sixty-two subjects (19%) had entirely normal endoscopic results and no ascertainable cause of their dyspepsia (termed provisionally essential dyspepsia). It is concluded that, whereas three-quarters of NUD patients have diseases that fall into other diagnostic categories, nearly one-quarter have essential dyspepsia.

Environmental factors in aetiology of chronic gastric ulcer: a case control study of exposure variables before the first symptoms

The aim of the present study was to determine whether there is indication that either smoking, alcohol ingestion, or ingestion of analgesic or non-salicylate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs plays any role in the development of chronic gastric ulcer disease. A group of 104 patients with gastric ulcer was compared with an age, sex and social grade matched community control population as regards exposure to the above factors during three time periods--the lifetime, five year and one year periods before the initial onset of the patients' ulcer symptoms. In all three study periods a statistically significant risk of gastric ulcer was found to be associated with smoking, and the daily use of aspirin, indomethacin and of other non-salicylate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a group, but not with alcohol or daily use of paracetamol. As exposure to the environmental factors preceded the initial onset of ulcer symptoms, causal relationships are suggested. Assuming the association are causal, it can be calculated that possibly up to 80% of gastric ulcer disease is attributable to smoking and the daily ingestion of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Telephone therapy: a review and case report

The impact of the telephone upon the practice of medicine and psychiatry is reviewed. As an exclusively auditory medium, the telephone conveys meaningful vocal information while screening out visual and other stimuli. It is suggested that some highly anxious and unstable individuals, who find psychotherapy too threatening, may benefit from telephone contact with a therapist. An illustrative case of telephone therapy is presented.

Pathways to the hospital for the geriatric psychiatric patient in New York and London

This communication examines the pathways of geriatric psychiatric patients in New York and London from the time of onset of a psychiatric episode to hospitalization. Informants of 50 patients in each city were interviewed with a semi-structured interview covering the events and the patient's activities prior to hospitalization. The results show that the time from the onset of the episode to hospitalization is significantly shorter in London than it is in New York. The major portion of this difference is accounted for by the longer time spent London the doctor is significantly more involved in New York between episode onset and initial medical contact. In the decision to hospitalize. In New York the main reason for hospitalization is harmful behavior, while in London it is psychiatric symptoms.