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Background: Late-life depression is a geriatric syndrome which should be taken seriously. Many clinical scales have been developed for the screening of geriatric depression. Most of these have been validated at different times and in diverse populations. A five-question version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5) was developed in 1997. This test has been validated and used in different populations. In the present study, we plan to validate the GDS-5 for the Turkish elderly population. Methods: Patients aged 60 years and older who applied to the Geriatrics Clinic of our hospital between November 2018 and November 2019 were included in the study. We compared the effectiveness of Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale-30 (YGDS-30) and GDS-5 in screening depression, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) depression criteria. Results: Four hundred participants were included in the study. A significant positive correlation was found between the DSM-5 scale and the GDS-5 scale (rho = 0.726, P <0.001). According to DSM-5, YGDS-30 and GDS-5, 112 participants (28%), 154 patients (%38.5) and 199 patients (%49.8) were diagnosed with depression respectively. When the cut-off value was taken as ≥2, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values for the GDS-5 scale were determined as 96%, 68%, 54%, and 98%, respectively. We obtained these diagnostic measures with 95% confidence intervals. Conclusion:This study demonstrated the validity and reliability of the GDS-5 for Turkish elderly populations. This five-question scale will be significant in daily use to screen for depression in elderly individuals with multiple problems.

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Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between polypharmacy and Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) (+) related mortality. Materials and Methods:All older adults >60 years old who had positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction tests were included in the study, designed retrospectively. Polypharmacy was defined as drug use of five or more.Results: One hundred and ten people of >60 years old were included in the study. Fifty-nine (53.6%) of the participants were male and the mean age was 70.5+8.81. The prevalence of polypharmacy in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection was 31.8% (n=35). Eighty-two (78.8%) of participants had pneumonia. Mortality occurred in 24 (21.8%) of the participants. There was no relationship between polypharmacy and mortality (p=0.241). In multivariate analysis, older age was associated with mortality (odds ratio: 6.82 95% confidence interval: 2.46-18.91, p<0.001). Conclusion:The prevalence of polypharmacy in individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 infection was like the literature. The most significant factors in death in people with COVID-19 infection were older age. There was no relationship between polypharmacy and mortality.