New, effective depression test for men

A new test developed by Australian researchers, the Short-Form Male Depression Risk Scale (MDRS-7), has been used to successfully identify men who may have up to 30 times the risk of suicidal ideation than otherwise indicated by traditional measures.


The study, published on May 31st in BMJ Open, was a collaborative effort by researchers from SAHMRI, the University of Adelaide, CSIRO Australia’s national science agency, Orygen and the Freemason’s Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing.

The team, led by psychologist and PhD candidate, Danielle Herreen, examined the effectiveness of the new MDRS-7 in identifying men at risk of depression and suicide who could be missed by mental health assessment tools currently being used by GPs to screen for the condition.

“Around 10% of men with depression score below the threshold for this disorder on traditional tests but will flag high on the Male Depression Risk Scale: this represents a whole subset of men who could have been flying under the radar and can now be detected,” Ms Herreen said.

“We found some men who may have depression or who are at risk of suicide express their distress in different ways to what we typically look for, and this often appears as behaviours that may be perceived as more stereotypically masculine.”

The new MDRS-7 is a short form of the MDRS-22 and consists of seven questions to assess men across a spectrum of previously ignored domains, including aggression, anger, emotion suppression, alcohol use, drug use, somatic symptoms and risk-taking.

The authors note that even though the MDRS-22 assesses externalised and male-type symptoms of depression, “in its current 22-item form, it is impractical for rapid use in primary care, particularly when used alongside traditional depression screening tools.”

Standard practice has involved assessing symptoms including low mood, loss of interest in activities, appetite changes, difficulty concentrating and feelings of worthlessness.

Co-author and Clinical Psychologist, Dr Simon Rice from the University of Melbourne says the aim of the new scale isn’t to replace the current approach, but to add value, allowing for a more comprehensive reading of an individual’s psychological state.

“Our research shows that combining traditional screening methods with these new questions, gives a much stronger indication of a person’s overall risk of depression and suicide,” Dr Rice said.

“Of particular importance is our finding that the correlation between the MDRS-7 and the original MDRS-22 was near perfect (r=0.94).”

After demonstrating its utility as a potential screening tool for primary and other healthcare settings, the research team is encouraging clinicians working in male mental health assessment to consider adopting the MDRS-7 as part of their standard practice.

The authors highlight that, “there is an urgent need for health services and providers to use more sensitive diagnostic tools as a means of improving the detection of depression and psychological distress in men and addressing the high rates of male suicide.”

Major depressive disorder is twice as prevalent in women than men – but even though men are less likely to be diagnosed with a depressive disorder, they are three times more likely to die by suicide compared with women.