Self-rated symptom severity scale covering the ten ICD-10 depressive symptoms.
Major Depression Index (MDI)
Felt low in spirits or sad
Lost interest in daily activities
Felt lacking in energy and strength
Felt less self-confident
Had a bad conscience or feelings of guilt
Felt life was not worth living
Had difficulty concentrating (e.g., reading, watching TV)
Felt very restless, or the opposite — kept down/slowed
Had trouble sleeping at night, or slept too much
Had a loss of appetite, or overate
Result0 / 50
No/minimal depression
When to use
Rating current depressive symptom severity over the ICD-10 symptom set, or tracking severity over time.
Formula
Sum of 10 items, each rated 0-5 (never to all the time). Range 0-50. Bands: <=20 none/minimal, 21-25 mild, 26-30 moderate, >=31 severe.
Pearls and pitfalls
The full instrument uses 12 questions because psychomotor change and appetite change are each asked as two alternatives, taking the higher-scoring sub-question; this simplified sum uses one combined item per domain.