Accuracy of online survey assessment of mental disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in Spanish university students. Results of the WHO World Mental Health- International College Student initiative

OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of WMH-ICS online screening scales for evaluating four common mental disorders (Major Depressive Episode[MDE], Mania/Hypomania[M/H], Panic Disorder[PD], Generalized Anxiety Disorder[GAD]) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors[STB] used in the UNIVERSAL project. METHODS: Clinical diagnostic reappraisal was carried out on a subsample of the UNIVERSAL project, a longitudinal online survey of first year Spanish students (18–24 years old), part of the WHO World Mental Health-International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of MDE, M/H, PD, GAD and STB were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Screening Scales [CIDI-SC], the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview [SITBI] and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale [C-SSRS]. Trained clinical psychologists, blinded to responses in the initial survey, administered via telephone the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview [MINI]. Measures of diagnostic accuracy and McNemar χ(2) test were calculated. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to maximize diagnostic capacity. RESULTS: A total of 287 students were included in the clinical reappraisal study. For 12-month and lifetime mood disorders, sensitivity/specificity were 67%/88.6% and 65%/73.3%, respectively. For 12-month and lifetime anxiety disorders, these were 76.8%/86.5% and 59.6%/71.1%, and for 12-month and lifetime STB, 75.9%/94.8% and 87.2%/86.3%. For 12-month and lifetime mood disorders, anxiety disorders and STB, positive predictive values were in the range of 18.1–55.1% and negative predictive values 90.2–99.0%; likelihood ratios positive were in the range of 2.1–14.6 and likelihood ratios negative 0.1–0.6. All outcomes showed adequate areas under the curve [AUCs] (AUC>0.7), except M/H and PD (AUC = 0.6). Post hoc analyses to select optimal diagnostic thresholds led to improved concordance for all diagnoses (AUCs>0.8). CONCLUSION: The WMS-ICS survey showed reasonable concordance with the MINI telephone interviews performed by mental health professionals, when utilizing optimized cut-off scores. The current study provides initial evidence that the WMS-ICS survey might be useful for screening purposes.