Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale

The Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale is a 10-item clinician-rated assessment designed by Stuart Montgomery and Marie Åsberg in 1979 to measure depression severity and track treatment response. Published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the MADRS was developed as an alternative to longer instruments like the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, emphasizing items most sensitive to treatment change. It has become a primary outcome measure in antidepressant trials and is widely used in both research and clinical practice across psychiatry, primary care, and medical specialty settings.