The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) is a short, structured diagnostic interview used as a tool to diagnose 16 axis I (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) DSM-IV disorders and one personality disorder. Its original version was developed by Sheehan and Lecrubier. We translated the MINI into Japanese, and investigated the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of MINI. Eighty-two subjects participated in the validation of the MINI versus the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID-P). One hundred and sixty-nine subjects participated in the validation of the MINI versus an expert's professional opinion. Seventy-seven subjects were interviewed by two investigators and subsequently readministered by a third interviewer blind to the results of initial evaluation 1-2 days later. In general, kappa values indicated good or excellent agreement between MINI and SCID-P diagnoses. Kappa values indicated poor agreement between MINI and expert's diagnoses for most diagnoses. Interrater and test-retest reliabilities were good or excellent. The mean durations of the interview were 18.8 min for MINI and 45.4 min for corresponding sections of SCID-P. Overall, the results suggest that the MINI Japanese version succeeds in reliably and validly eliciting symptom criteria used in making DSM-III-R diagnoses, and can be performed in less than half the time required for the SCID-P.

The validity of CES-D is confirmed and it is a valid instrument for detecting MDD in working populations in Japan.

To examine the differences in depressive state and associated factors between informal and professional caregivers, a cross-sectional study was carried out in 23 informal home-based caregivers of demented patients, 24 professional caregivers working in the dementia ward of a psychiatric hospital, and 31 controls. Measurements included severity of dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale, Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE) and levels of caregivers depression (Beck Depression Inventory; BDI), care burden (Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview; ZBI) and quality of life (World Health Organization-Quality of Life-26, WHO-QOL26). Informal caregivers had the highest BDI score and ZBI and the lowest QOL among the three studied groups. Regarding informal caregivers, there was a strong positive correlation between BDI and ZBI scores. The BDI and ZBI scores were significantly high when patients exhibited behavioral problems. The four WHO-QOL categories (physical domain, psychological domain, social relationships and environment) had a strong negative correlation with BDI. Regression analysis demonstrated that the psychological domain points of WHO-QOL, role strain factor of ZBI and MMSE score were significantly associated with BDI. Regarding professional caregivers, their BDI score had a strong negative correlation with the physical and psychological domains and environment categories of WHO-QOL. Regression analysis demonstrated that their BDI score was significantly associated with the psychological domain and environment. It is thus very important to provide sufficient social care services and/or personal support to informal caregivers.

Because poor sleep quality can reduce quality of life and increase prevalence of illness in workers, interventions are becoming increasingly important for businesses. To evaluate how sleep quality is affected by one-on-one behavioral modification when combined with group education, we conducted a randomized, controlled trial among day-shift white-collar employees working for an information-technology service company in Japan. Participants were randomly allocated to groups receiving either sleep hygiene group education (control group), or education combined with individual sleep modification training (one-on-one group). Occupational health professionals carried out both procedures, and sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index (PSQi). PSQi scores were obtained before and after the intervention period, and changes in scores were compared across groups after adjustments for age, gender, job title, smoking and drinking habits, body-mass index, and mental health as assessed using k6 scores. The average PSQi score for the control group decreased by 0.8, whereas that of the one-on-one group decreased by 1.8 (difference of 1), resulting in a significantly greater decrease in score for the one-on-one group (95% confidence interval: 0.02 to 2.0). These results show that, compared to sleep hygiene group education alone, the addition of individual behavioral training significantly improved the sleep quality of workers after only three months.