The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15): Validation in Mexico and Disorder in the State of Knowledge

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Geriatric Depression Scale in its 15-item version (GDS-15) in Mexican older adults. Participants included 1178 older adults between the ages of 60 and 94 ( M = 69.16, SD = 7.69); 53.9% were women and 55.8% were married or with a partner. They completed the GDS-15, a subjective well-being scale, and a quality-of-life questionnaire. A Kuder–Richardson coefficient of .80 was obtained, which indicates an acceptable internal consistency of the GDS-15, as well as evidence of divergent validity with significant correlations of −.783 with subjective well-being and −.569 with quality of life, in addition to concurrent validity when discriminating between participants with low scores from those with high scores of depressive symptoms. The need for a simple screening tool such as the GDS-15 that helps in the identification of depressive symptoms in Mexican older adults is underlined.

Disrupted topological organization of the default mode network in mild cognitive impairment with subsyndromal depression: A graph theoretical analysis

“…The composite scores of memory (ADNI‐MEM) and executive function (ADNI‐EF) were generated by the ADNI neuropsychological battery to reflect memory and executive functions, respectively 16 . The 15‐item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS‐15) was used to assess depressive symptoms 17 . In studies using the GDS‐15 to assess depressive symptoms in older adults, scores higher than 5 indicated the presence of clinical depression 18 .…”

A novel approach to investigate depression symptoms in the aging population using generalizability theory.

“…The MAS study examined the prevalence of MCI and psychological and behavioral symptoms in the nondemented older population (Sachdev et al, 2010). Studies suggest that GDS-15 is not suitable for people with cognitive and communication difficulties (Azulai & Walsh, 2015), and the reliability of GDS-15 test scores varies with impaired cognitive functioning (Acosta Quiroz et al, 2021). However, the validation studies of GDS-15 demonstrated it to be a valid tool in nondemented populations and people with MCI making it an appropriate tool for the MAS study (Nyunt et al, 2009; Acosta Quiroz et al, 2021).…”

“…Studies suggest that GDS-15 is not suitable for people with cognitive and communication difficulties (Azulai & Walsh, 2015), and the reliability of GDS-15 test scores varies with impaired cognitive functioning (Acosta Quiroz et al, 2021). However, the validation studies of GDS-15 demonstrated it to be a valid tool in nondemented populations and people with MCI making it an appropriate tool for the MAS study (Nyunt et al, 2009; Acosta Quiroz et al, 2021). Inclusion criteria at baseline were English proficiency sufficient to complete psychometric assessments and self-report questionnaires.…”

“…For example, a validation study of the GDS-15 on community-residing older adults found GDS-15 as a valid and reliable tool with an overall sensitivity of 0.97 and specificity of 0.95 at a cutoff score of 4 (Nyunt et al, 2009). Evidence also suggests that each of the items of GDS-15 discriminates between individuals with depression and those without depression (Acosta Quiroz et al, 2021), with additional studies confirming the reliability of scores and convergent validity of GDS-15 with other depression measures among immigrant Chinese in Australia (Dow et al, 2018). However, there are also reports of inconsistencies within the literature regarding the factor structure of the GDS-15.…”

“…On the other hand, a meta-analysis by Kim et al (2013) on the factor structures of different language versions of the GDS-15 found the English and Chinese versions as having four factors each, while the Korean version has six, and items making up these factors also vary by language. Although psychometric properties of GDS-15 have been examined in various studies, and the GDS-15 has been found to be a valid and reliable tool for screening depression in community-dwelling older populations, evidence is limited to name the factors consistently (Acosta Quiroz et al, 2021). More recent study of Merkin et al (2020) achieved a good fit of the GDS-15 to the unidimensional Rasch model that is identical to the one parameter item response theory (IRT) model, which supported psychometric properties, unidimensionality and internal validity of the GDS and its items.…”