Depression often coexists with other chronic conditions in older people. The COACH study is an ongoing random controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of a primary-care-based collaborative care approach to treat co-morbid hypertension and depression in Chinese rural elders. In the COACH model, a team—village doctor (VD), aging worker (AW), and psychiatrist consultant—provides collaborative care to enrolled subjects in each intervention village for 12 months. This study examines how COACH was implemented and identifies facilitators and barriers for its more widespread implementation.

Five focus groups were conducted, two with VDs, two with AWs, and one with psychiatrists, for a total of 38 participants. Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

COACH care-team members showed shared understanding and appreciation of the team approach and integrated management of hypertension and depression. Team collaboration was smooth. All members regarded COACH to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving patient health. Facilitators to implementation include training, leaders’ support, geographic proximity between VD and AW pairs, preexisting relationships among care-team members, comparability of COACH activities and existing practices of VDs and AWs, and care team members’ caring about older members of their villages. Barriers to sustainability include frustration of some VDs related to their low wages and feelings of overload of some AWs.

COACH was positively perceived and successfully implemented. The findings offer guidance for planning primary-care-based collaborative depression care in low- and middle-income countries.

Item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) queries about thoughts of death and self-harm, but not suicidality. Although it is sometimes used to assess suicide risk, most positive responses are not associated with suicidality. The PHQ-8, which omits Item 9, is thus increasingly used in research. We assessed equivalency of total score correlations and the diagnostic accuracy to detect major depression of the PHQ-8 and PHQ-9.

We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis. We fit bivariate random-effects models to assess diagnostic accuracy.

16 742 participants (2097 major depression cases) from 54 studies were included. The correlation between PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 scores was 0.996 (95% confidence interval 0.996 to 0.996). The standard cutoff score of 10 for the PHQ-9 maximized sensitivity + specificity for the PHQ-8 among studies that used a semi-structured diagnostic interview reference standard (N = 27). At cutoff 10, the PHQ-8 was less sensitive by 0.02 (−0.06 to 0.00) and more specific by 0.01 (0.00 to 0.01) among those studies (N = 27), with similar results for studies that used other types of interviews (N = 27). For all 54 primary studies combined, across all cutoffs, the PHQ-8 was less sensitive than the PHQ-9 by 0.00 to 0.05 (0.03 at cutoff 10), and specificity was within 0.01 for all cutoffs (0.00 to 0.01).

PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 total scores were similar. Sensitivity may be minimally reduced with the PHQ-8, but specificity is similar.

Different diagnostic interviews are used as reference standards for major depression classification in research. Semi-structured interviews involve clinical judgement, whereas fully structured interviews are completely scripted. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), a brief fully structured interview, is also sometimes used. It is not known whether interview method is associated with probability of major depression classification.

To evaluate the association between interview method and odds of major depression classification, controlling for depressive symptom scores and participant characteristics.

Data collected for an individual participant data meta-analysis of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) diagnostic accuracy were analysed and binomial generalised linear mixed models were fit.

A total of 17 158 participants (2287 with major depression) from 57 primary studies were analysed. Among fully structured interviews, odds of major depression were higher for the MINI compared with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) (odds ratio (OR) = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.15–3.87). Compared with semi-structured interviews, fully structured interviews (MINI excluded) were non-significantly more likely to classify participants with low-level depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 scores ≤6) as having major depression (OR = 3.13; 95% CI = 0.98–10.00), similarly likely for moderate-level symptoms (PHQ-9 scores 7–15) (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.56–1.66) and significantly less likely for high-level symptoms (PHQ-9 scores ≥16) (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.26–0.97).

The MINI may identify more people as depressed than the CIDI, and semi-structured and fully structured interviews may not be interchangeable methods, but these results should be replicated.

Drs Jetté and Patten declare that they received a grant, outside the submitted work, from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, which was jointly funded by the Institute and Pfizer. Pfizer was the original sponsor of the development of the PHQ-9, which is now in the public domain. Dr Chan is a steering committee member or consultant of Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Lilly, MSD and Pfizer. She has received sponsorships and honorarium for giving lectures and providing consultancy and her affiliated institution has received research grants from these companies. Dr Hegerl declares that within the past 3 years, he was an advisory board member for Lundbeck, Servier and Otsuka Pharma; a consultant for Bayer Pharma; and a speaker for Medice Arzneimittel, Novartis, and Roche Pharma, all outside the submitted work. Dr Inagaki declares that he has received grants from Novartis Pharma, lecture fees from Pfizer, Mochida, Shionogi, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Daiichi-Sankyo, Meiji Seika and Takeda, and royalties from Nippon Hyoron Sha, Nanzando, Seiwa Shoten, Igaku-shoin and Technomics, all outside of the submitted work. Dr Yamada reports personal fees from Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., MSD K.K., Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Seishin Shobo, Seiwa Shoten Co., Ltd., Igaku-shoin Ltd., Chugai Igakusha and Sentan Igakusha, all outside the submitted work. All other authors declare no competing interests. No funder had any role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

The Behavioral Health Laboratory (BHL), a telephone-based mental health assessment, is a cost-effective approach that can improve mental illness identification and management. The individual BHL instruments, which were originally designed to be administered in-person, have not yet been validated with an in-person BHL assessment. This study therefore aims to characterize the concordance between the BHL data gathered by telephone and in-person interviews.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with English-speaking aging services network (ASN) clients aged 60 years and older in Monroe County, NY who were randomized to a BHL interview either in-person (n = 55) or by telephone (n = 53).

There was strong evidence of equivalence between telephone and in-person interviews for depressive disorders, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, drug misuse, psychosis, PTSD, mental illness symptom severity, and five of the six questions assessing suicidality. There was marginal equivalence in PHQ-9 total scores and one of the six questions assessing suicidal ideation, and no evidence of equivalence between interview modalities for assessing cognitive impairment.

With a few exceptions, the BHL gathered nearly equivalent information via telephone as compared to in-person interviews. This suggests that the BHL may be a cost-effective approach appropriate for dissemination in a wide variety of settings including the ASN. Dissemination of the BHL has the potential to strengthen the linkages between primary care, mental healthcare, and social service providers and improve identification and management of those with late-life mental illness.

Little is known about gender differences in the long-term outcomes of people with schizophrenia living in the community.

To explore gender differences in the 14-year outcome of people with schizophrenia in rural China.

A 14-year follow-up study among a 1994 cohort (n = 510) of participants with schizophrenia was conducted in Xinjin County, Chengdu, China. All participants and their informants were followed up in 2004 and 2008 using the Patients Follow-up Schedule.

Compared with female participants, male participants were significantly younger, had significantly higher rates of mortality, suicide and homelessness, and poorer family and social support. There was no significant gender difference in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores, previous suicide attempts, those never treated, previous hospital admission or inability to work. Longer duration of illness was associated with functional decline and comparatively poorer family economic status.

The long-term outcomes of men with schizophrenia is worse than those of women with the disorder in rural China. Higher mortality, suicide and homelessness rates in men may contribute partly to the higher prevalence of schizophrenia in women in China. Policies on social and family support and gender-specific intervention strategies for improving long-term outcomes should be developed for people with this disorder.

Many people with schizophrenia remain untreated in the community. Long-term mortality and suicidal behaviour among never-treated individuals with schizophrenia in the community are unknown.

To explore 10-year mortality and suicidal behaviour among never-treated individuals with schizophrenia.

We used data from a 10-year prospective follow-up study (1994–2004) among people with schizophrenia in Xinjin County, Chengdu, China.

The mortality rate for never-treated individuals with schizophrenia was 2761 per 100 000 person-years during follow-up. There were no significant differences of rates of suicide and all-cause mortality between never-treated and treated individuals. The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) for never-treated people was 10.4 (95% CI 7.2–15.2) and for treated individuals 6.5 (95% CI 5.2–8.5). Compared with treated people, never-treated individuals were more likely to be older, poorer, have a longer duration of illness, marked symptoms and fewer family members.

The never-treated individuals have similar mortality to and a higher proportion of marked symptoms than treated people, which may reflect the poor outcome of the individuals without treatment. The higher rates of mortality, homelessness and never being treated among people with schizophrenia in low- and middle-income nations might challenge presumed wisdom about schizophrenia outcomes in these countries.

Clinical samples have identified a number of psychosocial risk factors for suicidal acts but it is unclear if these findings relate to the general population.

To describe the prevalence of and psychosocial risk factors for suicidal acts in a general adult population.

Data were obtained from a Canadian epidemiological survey of 36 984 respondents aged 15 years and older (weighted sample n=23 662 430).

Of these respondents, 0.6% (weighted n=130 143) endorsed a 12-month suicidal act. Female gender (OR=4.27, 95% CI 4.05–4.50), being separated (OR=37.88, 95% CI 33.92–42.31) or divorced (OR=7.79, 95% CI 7.22–8.41), being unemployed (OR=1.70, 95% CI 1.50–1.80), experiencing a chronic physical health condition (OR=1.70, 95% CI 1.67–1.86) and experiencing a major depressive episode in the same 12-month period as the act (OR=9.10, 95% CI 8.65–9.59) were significantly associated with a suicidal act.

The psychosocial correlates of suicidal acts in this sample are consistent with those previously reported in clinical and general population samples. These findings reinforce the importance of the determination of suicide risk and its prevention not only of psychiatric illness but of physical and psychosocial factors as well.

Long-term mortality and the risk factors for premature death among patients with schizophrenia living in rural communities are unknown.

To explore the 10-year mortality and its risk factors among patients with schizophrenia.

We used data from a 10-year prospective follow-up study (1994–2004) of mortality among people with schizophrenia, and death registration data for Xinjin County, Chengdu, China.

The mortality rate was 2228 per 100 000 person-years during follow-up. Both all-cause mortality and suicide rates were significantly greater in male than in female patients. Age at illness onset (>45 years), duration of illness (⩾10 years), age greater than 50 years, physical illness, inability to work, male gender, and never having received treatment were identified as independent predictors of increased mortality.

Higher mortality rates in male patients may contribute to the higher prevalence of schizophrenia in women compared with men in China. The findings of risk factors for mortality should be taken into account when developing interventions to improve outcomes among people with schizophrenia.