Mood barometer is out, revealing your depression in 1 minute - Depression Self-Assessment Questionnaire

This is the 5276th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Old Li and his men gathered at their old base, "under the wisteria arbor," and discussed in low but intense voices:

--"Why have you been in a bad mood like Lao You these days, your brain is slow, you have no interest in anything, and you are too lazy to move?" Lao Li said to Lao Wang.

--"You're not suffering from depression, are you?" Old Xie said.

--"Didn't Mr. You's doctor tell you last time that the World Health Organization predicts that depression will surpass cancer and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases to become the world's largest disease burden in 2030. People like us with high blood pressure, diabetes, and poor kidneys are especially more likely to get it," said Aunt Liang.

--"Do you know who depression likes to find the most?" said Lao Zhao, a retired teacher, mysteriously. After seeing several people shaking their heads, he continued, "Starting from 2022, our country's elderly population aged 60 and above will exceed 280 million, accounting for 19.8% of the total population, of which nearly 210 million will be 65 years old and above, accounting for 14.9%. We have entered a moderately aging society. In the future, the size and proportion of the elderly population will continue to expand and rise. After retirement, the social roles and socioeconomic status of the elderly will change significantly, health risks will increase sharply, health fragility will increase, and with the continuous decline of physiological functions, various psychological problems will also frequently appear, so the largest group of depressed people are us old people."

--"I also felt something was wrong a few days ago, and I happened to meet the doctor in our building, who told me that I could test myself for depression. He taught me how to do it. Let's do it together," said Lao Wang.

--"Okay, okay." Several people rushed over to Lao Wang.

Mood Barometer-Depression Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Please read each item carefully, and then choose the answer that best fits your situation based on your actual feelings in the past two weeks. Please do not hesitate to answer based on your real experience and actual situation. Do not spend too much time thinking about it, but let it go and make judgments based on first impressions.

Each question has four options: "Not at all, several days, more than half of the days, almost every day", and the corresponding scores are 0, 1, 2, and 3 points. The specific questions are as follows:

1. Lack of energy or interest in doing things;

2. Feeling low, depressed, or hopeless;

3. Difficulty falling asleep, restless sleep or excessive sleep;

4. Feeling tired or lacking energy;

5. Loss of appetite or eating too much;

6. Feeling bad about yourself or a failure, or disappointing yourself or your family;

7. Having trouble concentrating on things, such as reading a newspaper or watching TV;

8. Are you moving or speaking so slowly that others can notice? Or on the contrary, you are fidgeting or restless, and moving around more than usual;

9. Having thoughts of wanting to die or harm oneself in some way.

The scores of all questions are added together to get the total score **, and the results are judged as follows**: 0-4 points: no depression; 5-9 points: mild depression; 10-14 points: moderate depression; 15-19 points: moderate to severe depression; 20-27 points: severe depression.

--"It's very simple, isn't it? You can test your condition in just one minute. But the doctor also said that the results of your self-test can only be used as a reference and cannot be used as the final result." Lao Wang added.

--"This doctor is very rigorous," said Teacher Zhao. "I have been following the news. Our country has proposed the Outline of the Healthy China 2030 Plan, which points out that we should strengthen the intervention of common mental disorders and psychological and behavioral problems such as depression and anxiety, increase the early detection and timely intervention of psychological problems of key groups, promote healthy aging, and promote the development of mental health and care services for the elderly. The "14th Five-Year Plan" for National Health proposes to improve mental health and mental health services, promote the health of our elderly, and implement psychological care and other actions. Many experts have also done research and said that both individual social capital and community social capital are significantly associated with higher levels of mental health.

Positive correlation, in order to reduce the depression level of our elderly, improve the mental health level of the elderly, and promote healthy aging of the elderly, we have introduced many policies in strengthening health education for the elderly, expanding the scale of the elderly's social network, improving the elderly's social participation level, increasing social support for the elderly, and expanding the economic activity space for the elderly. Now I have to pick up my grandson from school, and I will talk to the old people next time. "

--"He stopped again when he got to the key point. You must remember to explain it to us tomorrow." Several people were allowed to go back only after getting Teacher Zhao's assurance.

References

[1] Hou Jianming, Zhou Wenjian. Research on the impact of social capital on depression among the elderly[J]. Journal of Population Studies, 2024, 46(3): 113-128.

[2] Yu Haidong, Pan Miaomiao, Gu Hongqin, et al. Study on the correlation between depression and cognitive status and nutritional metabolism in community elderly people[J]. Chinese General Practice, 2024, 27(28): 3540-3545.

[3] Chai Yulin, Luo Sheng, Mi Yuqing, et al. Current status of chronic diseases in the elderly in China and their relationship with depressive symptoms[J]. Journal of Zhengzhou University (Medical Edition), 2024, 59(6): 762-767.

Author: Liu Ya, head nurse of the Central ICU of Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital; Lei Wei'ai, head nurse of the General Surgery Department of Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital