Sensitivity of the six-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

We studied the sensitivity in detecting changes of the 6‐item version of the original 17‐item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM‐D) and compared it with the more widely used versions among 164 depressed outpatients with and without atypical features before and after treatment with fluoxetine. The 6‐item HAM‐D was shown to be as sensitive as the 17‐, 21‐and 24‐item versions of this scale. In addition, the different versions of the HAM‐D were strongly correlated with each other at baseline and at the endpoint. It appears that the 6‐item version of the HAM‐D allows the assessment of severity of depression with comparable sensitivity to the standard and more elaborate versions of the same scale.