Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder

Background The patient-reported Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) has been adapted into Chinese, so there is a need to evaluate its measurement properties in a Chinese population.Aims To evaluate the reliability and validity of the DARS among Chinese individuals with major depressive disorde...

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Main Authors: XiaoJing Gu, Xiaowei Chen, Yun-Ai Su, Tianmei Si, Jingyu Lin, Donald M Bushnell, Dongjing Fu, Carol Jamieson, Heather Rozjabek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-04-01
Series:General Psychiatry
Online Access:https://gpsych.bmj.com/content/38/2/e101789.full
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author XiaoJing Gu
Xiaowei Chen
Yun-Ai Su
Tianmei Si
Jingyu Lin
Donald M Bushnell
Dongjing Fu
Carol Jamieson
Heather Rozjabek
author_facet XiaoJing Gu
Xiaowei Chen
Yun-Ai Su
Tianmei Si
Jingyu Lin
Donald M Bushnell
Dongjing Fu
Carol Jamieson
Heather Rozjabek
author_sort XiaoJing Gu
collection DOAJ
description Background The patient-reported Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) has been adapted into Chinese, so there is a need to evaluate its measurement properties in a Chinese population.Aims To evaluate the reliability and validity of the DARS among Chinese individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and its treatment sensitivity in a prospective clinical study.Methods Data were from a multicentre, prospective clinical study (NCT03294525), which recruited both patients with MDD, who were followed for 8 weeks, and healthy controls (HCs), assessed at baseline only. The analysis included confirmatory factor analysis, validity and sensitivity to change.Results Patients’ mean (standard deviation (SD)) age was 34.8 (11.0) years, with 68.7% being female. 75.2% of patients with MDD had melancholic features, followed by 63.8% with anxious distress. Patients had experienced MDD for a mean (SD) of 9.2 (18) months. DARS scores covered the full range of severity with no major floor or ceiling effects. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate fit statistics (comparative fit index 0.976, goodness-of-fit index 0.935 and root mean square error of approximation 0.055). Convergent validity with anhedonia-related measures was confirmed. While the correlation between the DARS and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was not strong (r=0.31, baseline), the DARS was found to differentiate between levels of depression. Greater improvements in DARS scores were seen with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression responder group (effect size 1.16) compared with the non-responder group (effect size 0.46).Conclusions This study comprehensively evaluated the measurement properties of the DARS using a Chinese population with MDD. Overall, the Chinese version of DARS demonstrates good psychometric properties and has been found to be responsive to change during antidepressant treatment. The DARS is a suitable scale for assessing patient-reported anhedonia in future clinical trials.
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spelling doaj-art-0d2b0f9152ee4b59ae0c22408d69ba7a2025-08-20T03:48:30ZengBMJ Publishing GroupGeneral Psychiatry2517-729X2025-04-0138210.1136/gpsych-2024-101789Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorderXiaoJing Gu0Xiaowei Chen1Yun-Ai Su2Tianmei Si3Jingyu Lin4Donald M Bushnell5Dongjing Fu6Carol Jamieson7Heather Rozjabek81 Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Shanghai, China1 Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Shanghai, China2 Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China2 Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China2 Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China3 Patient-Centered Research, Evidera Pharmaceutical Product Development, Bethesda, Maryland, USA4 Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Titusville, New Jersey, USA5 Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Milpitas, California, USA6 Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USABackground The patient-reported Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) has been adapted into Chinese, so there is a need to evaluate its measurement properties in a Chinese population.Aims To evaluate the reliability and validity of the DARS among Chinese individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and its treatment sensitivity in a prospective clinical study.Methods Data were from a multicentre, prospective clinical study (NCT03294525), which recruited both patients with MDD, who were followed for 8 weeks, and healthy controls (HCs), assessed at baseline only. The analysis included confirmatory factor analysis, validity and sensitivity to change.Results Patients’ mean (standard deviation (SD)) age was 34.8 (11.0) years, with 68.7% being female. 75.2% of patients with MDD had melancholic features, followed by 63.8% with anxious distress. Patients had experienced MDD for a mean (SD) of 9.2 (18) months. DARS scores covered the full range of severity with no major floor or ceiling effects. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate fit statistics (comparative fit index 0.976, goodness-of-fit index 0.935 and root mean square error of approximation 0.055). Convergent validity with anhedonia-related measures was confirmed. While the correlation between the DARS and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was not strong (r=0.31, baseline), the DARS was found to differentiate between levels of depression. Greater improvements in DARS scores were seen with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression responder group (effect size 1.16) compared with the non-responder group (effect size 0.46).Conclusions This study comprehensively evaluated the measurement properties of the DARS using a Chinese population with MDD. Overall, the Chinese version of DARS demonstrates good psychometric properties and has been found to be responsive to change during antidepressant treatment. The DARS is a suitable scale for assessing patient-reported anhedonia in future clinical trials.https://gpsych.bmj.com/content/38/2/e101789.full
spellingShingle XiaoJing Gu
Xiaowei Chen
Yun-Ai Su
Tianmei Si
Jingyu Lin
Donald M Bushnell
Dongjing Fu
Carol Jamieson
Heather Rozjabek
Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder
General Psychiatry
title Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder
title_full Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder
title_fullStr Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder
title_full_unstemmed Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder
title_short Quantitative scale validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale in the treatment of Chinese patients with major depressive disorder
title_sort quantitative scale validation of the dimensional anhedonia rating scale in the treatment of chinese patients with major depressive disorder
url https://gpsych.bmj.com/content/38/2/e101789.full
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