Major depressive episodes and mortality in the Canadian household population.

Objective: To explore the association between major depressive episodes (MDE) and subsequent mortality in a representative sample of the general household population, with adjustment for other determinants of mortality.

Method: The analysis used four datasets from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS); the CCHS 1.1 (conducted in 2000 and 2001), the CCHS 1.

Validating screening tools for depression in stroke and transient ischemic attack patients.

Objective: The best screening questionnaires for detecting post-stroke depression have not been identified. We aimed to validate four commonly used depression screening tools in stroke and transient ischemic attack patients.

Methods: Consecutive stroke and transient ischemic attack patients visiting an outpatient stroke clinic in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) completed a demographic questionnaire and four depression screening tools: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9, PHQ-2, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15).