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Depression is a global problem, with serious consequences for individual health and the economy, and therefore, rapid and effective screening tools are needed to counteract its growing prevalence. Now, researchers in Japan have discovered that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to detect signs of depression.
In a study published this month in BMJ Open, researchers at Tsukuba University have revealed that an artificial intelligence system is used machine learning could predict psychological distress among workers, which is a risk factor for depression.
Although there are many questionnaires for this screen mental health conditions, individuals may hesitate to truthfully answer questions about subjective mood due to social stigma regarding mental health. However, a machine learning system could be used to analyze depression / psychological distress without this data, which researchers at Tsukuba University intended to address.
“We wanted to see if the AI system could detect psychological distress in a large population based on sociodemographic, lifestyle and sleep factors, without data on subjective states, such as mood,” says the lead author of the study, Professor Shotaro Doki.
To investigate, the researchers asked a group of researchers and office workers to complete an online survey on sociodemographic, lifestyle, and sleep factors. They then developed an AI model that predicted psychological distress according to data from 7251 participants and compared the results obtained from the AI model with the predictions of a team of 6 psychiatrists.
“The results were amazing,” Professor Doki explains. “We found that even without data on mood, the AI model and the team of psychiatrists produced similar predictions regarding moderate psychological distress.”
In addition, for participants with severe psychological distress, the predictions made by the AI model were more accurate than the predictions of psychiatrists.
“This newly developed model appears to be able to easily predict psychological distress among a large number of workers, with no data on their subjective mood,” says Professor Doki. “This effectively avoids the problem of social stigma on mental health in the workplace and eliminates the risk of inadequate answers to respondents’ mood questions. “
Therefore, detection tools that do not require individuals to report their subjective mood may be more accurate and therefore more able to identify individuals who would not otherwise receive treatment. Previous interventions to treat depression and psychological distress are likely to decrease the severity of mental illness, with significant benefits for both individuals and society.
Shotaro Doki et al, Comparison of predicted psychological distress among workers between artificial intelligence and psychiatrists: a cross-sectional study in Tsukuba Science City, Japan, BMJ Open (2021). DOI: 10.1136 / bmjopen-2020-046265
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University of Tsukuba
Citation: Using Artificial Intelligence to Overcome Mental Health Stigma (2021, June 29), retrieved June 29, 2021 at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-artificial-intelligence-mental -health-stigma.html
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