Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
[Validation of geriatric depression scale in a general outpatient clinic]
Emylucy Martins Paiva Paradela1, Roberto Alves Lourenço, Renato Peixoto Veras
1Departamento de Epidemiologia, Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. emylucy@uol.com.br
Objective:
The Geriatric Depression Scale for screening depressive symptoms in the elderly has not been assessed in elderly outpatients who seek primary health care in Brazil. The objective was to determine the validity of the Short Scale for Major Depressive Episode or Dysthymia (GDS-15) in elderly outpatients.
Methods:
The scale was applied in 302 subjects with 65 years and older and then examined by an independent geriatrician, blinded to the results. Major depression and dysthymia were diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated at several cutoff values and a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was plotted.
Results:
The best equilibrium was at the cutoff value of 5/6 showing 81% sensitivity and 71% specificity; the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.79-0.91).
Conclusions:
The GDS-15 can be used for screening depressive symptoms in Brazilian elderly outpatients. The previously suggested cutoff value of 5/6 is adequate.
