The Depressing Truth about Depression Scales with Dr. Cathy Pederson

Dr. Cathy Pederson discusses her recent study on the assessment of depression in individuals with chronic invisible illnesses such as POTS, MCAS, and EDS. The study highlights a significant issue with common depression rating scales, which often include somatic symptoms related to these conditions, leading to potentially inflated depression scores. This misrepresentation can impact diagnosis and treatment, underscoring the need for healthcare practitioners and researchers to differentiate between symptoms of the chronic illness itself and actual depression. The episode proposes that the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale is the best tool currently available for evaluating depression in those with chronic illnesses, as of 2022.