Hamilton Depression Scores Can Be Extracted from the K-SADS-P in Adolescents

Paralleling the work of Endicott and colleagues who provided an algorithm for extracting a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score from the SADS and SADS-C interviews for adults, this report provides an algorithm for extracting a HDRS score from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children, Present Episode (KSADS-P). The HDRS and the K-SADS-P were administered to 21 adolescent outpatients with major depressive disorder. Using symptoms from the K-SADS-P, an estimate of the HDRS total score was extracted and correlated with the actual HDRS total score. The interclass correlation coefficient was extremely high (0.987), demonstrating that the HDRS total score can be accurately estimated from the K-SADS-P. This method can help relate findings from clinical evaluations and research studies of children using the K-SADS-P to prior assessments of children as well as adults with major depression that employed the HDRS. Clinicians and researchers in psychopharmacology do not need to administer both the HDRS and the K-SADS-P.