Psychometric Properties of a Revised Version of the Geriatric Depression Scale Among Community Dwelling Older Adults With Mild Depression

High-level depressive symptoms have been reported in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), resulting in increased risk of progression to dementia. However, studies investigating the correlates of depressive symptoms among this population are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the significant socio-demographic, lifestyle-related and disease-related correlates of depressive symptoms among this cohort. Cross-sectional data were obtained from a sample of 154 Chinese community-dwelling older adults with MCI. MCI subjects were screened by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale. Possible correlates of depressive symptoms in individuals with MCI were explored by multiple linear regressions. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults with MCI was 31.8%. In multiple regression analysis, poor perceived positive social interaction, small social network, low level of physical activity, poor functional status, subjective memory complaint, and poor health perception were correlated with depressive symptoms. The findings highlight that depressive symptoms are sufficient to warrant evaluation and management in older adults with MCI. Addressing social isolation, assisting this vulnerable group in functional and physical activities, and cultivating a positive perception towards cognitive and physical health are highly prioritized treatment targets among individuals with MCI.

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Apathy and the Risk of Predementia Syndromes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbaa063 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 75 (7) ◽

pp. 1443-1450

Author(s):

Mirnova E Ceïde ◽

Alana Warhit ◽

Emmeline I Ayers ◽

Gary Kennedy ◽

Joe Verghese

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Cognitive Disorders ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Cognitive Risk ◽

Aging Study ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽

Predementia Syndromes

Abstract Objectives Apathy is a potential predictor of dementia in older adults, but this investigation has been limited to older adults with a preexisting neurological illness like mild cognitive impairment (MCI), stroke or Parkinson’s disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between apathy at baseline and incident predementia syndromes, including MCI and motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), subjective cognitive complaints and slow gait, in community-dwelling older adults. Method We prospectively studied the association between apathy (using the 3-item subscale of the Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS3A]) and incident cognitive disorders in 542 community-dwelling older adults enrolled in the Central Control of Mobility in Aging study using Cox proportional hazard models. Associations were reported as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for age, education, baseline cognitive performance, and depressive symptoms. Results Apathy was associated with incident MCR (HR 2.39, 95% CI: 1.10–5.20), but not predementia syndromes overall nor MCI. In sensitivity analyses of MCI subtypes, apathy was associated with nonamnestic MCI (HR 2.44, 95% CI: 1.14–5.22), but not amnestic MCI. Our study was limited by a short follow-up time (median 13.6 months; interquartile range 29.8) and a brief subscale measurement of apathy, GDS3A. Discussion In our study, apathy predicted MCR but not MCI in community-dwelling older adults. These results and the current literature suggest that apathy is an early risk factor for dementia. Additionally, apathy may be a novel treatment target that could forestall the disability of dementia.

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Sport and Recreational Physical Activities Attenuate the Predictive Association of Multimorbidity With Increased Geriatric Depressive Symptoms: A 14-Year Follow-Up Study of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.2021-0070 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Yonglin Liang ◽

Francisco T.T. Lai ◽

Joyce L.Y. Kwan ◽

Wai Chan ◽

Eng-Kiong Yeoh

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

The Elderly ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Adjusted Relative Risk ◽

Recreational Activities ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

Multimorbidity is associated with increased depression risks. Little research examines how physical exercise moderates this association. From an existing cohort of community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong recruited in 2001–2003, the authors included participants who were successfully interviewed after 14 years (2015–2017). Geriatric depressive symptoms were used as the primary outcome and measured by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, while multimorbidity was operationalized using a list of 19 conditions. Subscores of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly measuring light, moderate, and strenuous sport/recreational activities were included as moderators. In total, 1,056 participants were included, of whom 50.7% were multimorbid. Multimorbidity was associated with 12% more geriatric depressive symptoms, but strenuous physical activities were associated with a smaller risk elevation only among multimorbid patients (adjusted relative risk = 0.99, 95% confidence interval [0.98, 0.99]; p = .001). In conclusion, strenuous sport and recreational activities may attenuate the association between multimorbidity and geriatric depressive symptoms.

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Association between Chronic Pain and Physical Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16081330 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. 1330 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Yuki Nakai ◽

Hyuma Makizako ◽

Ryoji Kiyama ◽

Kazutoshi Tomioka ◽

Yoshiaki Taniguchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Chronic Pain ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Physical Frailty ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

This cross-sectional study investigated the association between chronic pain and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults. We analyzed data obtained from 323 older adults (women: 74.6%) who participated in a community-based health check survey (the Tarumizu Study, 2017). Physical frailty was defined in terms of five parameters (exhaustion, slowness, weakness, low physical activity, and weight loss). We assessed the prevalence of chronic low back and knee pain using questionnaires. Participants whose pain had lasted ≥two months were considered to have chronic pain. Among all participants, 138 (42.7%) had chronic pain, and 171 (53.0%) were categorized as having physical frailty or pre-frailty. Logistic regression analysis showed that chronic pain was significantly associated with the group combining frailty and pre-frailty (odds ratio 1.68, 95% confidence interval 1.03–2.76, p = 0.040) after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, score on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, and medications. Comparing the proportions of chronic pain among participants who responded to the sub-items, exhaustion (yes: 65.9%, no: 39.4%) demonstrated a significant association (p < 0.001). Chronic pain could be associated with the group combining frailty and pre-frailty and is particularly associated with exhaustion in community-dwelling older adults. Therefore, there is a need for early intervention and consideration of the role of exhaustion when devising interventions for physical frailty in older individuals with chronic pain.

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Using postal questionnaires to identify carer depression prior to initial patient contact

Psychiatric Bulletin ◽

10.1192/pb.bp.108.020982 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 169-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Candida R. Graham ◽

Sube Banerjee ◽

Randeep S. Gill

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Postal Questionnaire ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Geriatric Depression ◽

Simple Method ◽

Mental Health Team ◽

Local Initiative

Aims and MethodTo assess whether postal questionnaires, used as a local initiative, were useful in identifying carer depression allowing early support for community-dwelling carers of older adults with mental health needs. the Geriatric Depression Scale and a questionnaire collecting information on the carer's circumstances were sent to carers of consecutive patients routinely referred to a community mental health team for older adults in south London. Rates of carer depression between postal questionnaire responders and non-responders were compared.ResultsThe response rate to the postal questionnaires (33%) was similar to that observed in other postal studies; 42% of responders had depression compared with only 4.6% of non-responders.Clinical ImplicationsPre-contact postal questionnaires may present a simple method of enhancing early detection of carer depression for minimal economic outlay.

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Sarcopenia and Coronary Heart Disease Synergistically Increase the Risk of New Onset Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults

10.21203/rs.3.rs-112175/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoyu Chen ◽

Peipei Han ◽

Xing Yu ◽

Yuanyuan Zhang ◽

Peiyu Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Coronary Heart Disease ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

The Elderly ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Geriatric Depression ◽

New Onset

Abstract Background: It is well known that psychological and physical are very common among the elderly. This study aimed to investigate the additive effects of coronary heart disease (CHD) and sarcopenia on the risk of new onset depressive symptoms in older adults. Methods: The prospective cohort study comprised 897 Chinese community-dwelling participants who were aged 60 years and older (386 men; mean age 66.9±5.9 years) without depressive symptoms at baseline, recruited from Chadian of Tianjin, China. Sarcopenia was defined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria. CHD was identified via medical records or new diagnosed by at least two physicians. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) ≥11. Longitudinal data on new onset depressive symptoms were collected up to 12 months after baseline.Results: We found that 103 (11.5%) of the 897 participants without depressive symptoms at baseline had developed depressive symptoms. Participants were classified into mutually exclusive groups based on sarcopenia status and CHD: normal, CHD alone, sarcopenia alone, and co-occurring groups. A logistic regression showed that the CHD alone [odd ratios (OR) = 1.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-3.07]], sarcopenia alone (OR = 2.77, 95% CI = 1.24-6.16), and co-occurring (OR = 7.12, 95% CI = 2.73-18.61) had higher risk of depressive symptoms than the normal group after adjusting for the covariates.Conclusions: CHD and sarcopenia synergistically increase the risk of new onset depressive symptoms in older adults. Thus, older adults may require early detection, and appropriate interventions should be implemented.

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Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Geriatric Depression Scale to Measure Apathy in Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1187 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 368-369

Author(s):

Mirnova Ceide ◽

Aviva Cantor ◽

Joe Verghese ◽

David Lounsbury

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Measurement Model ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Factor Scores ◽

Geriatric Depression ◽

Memory Clinic ◽

Confirmatory Factor

Abstract Apathy is a psychological syndrome characterized by lack of motivation, interest, flattening of affect and social withdrawal; which has been associated with cognitive and functional decline in community dwelling older adults. Many of these associations have been investigated using subscales of depression tools, with varying sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this study was to develop an apathy measurement model, which distinguishes depression and apathy, using the Geriatric Depression Scale Long Form (GDS). We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a memory clinic cohort (N=81) who completed the GDS. Based on the EFA results, we ran a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a community dwelling cohort of older adults (≥65 years old) enrolled in the Central Control of Mobility in Aging study (CCMA) and computed factor scores in both cohorts. CFA of the GDS in the CCMA cohort (N=538) yielded 3 factors: Depression (14 items; Cronbach’s α=0.77), Apathy (10 items; Cronbach’s α=0.63), and Cognitive concern (4 items; Cronbach’s α=0.546). In linear regression models, adjusted for age and gender, the memory clinic cohort had significantly higher Apathy factor scores (β = .18, t(618) = 4.49, p < .001) factor scores compared to the CCMA cohort.Our findings suggest that the CFA derived apathy score is a reliable and valid tool to distinguish apathy from depression in older adults. This novel measurement model can be employed in both clinic and research populations to investigate the role of apathy in cognitive decline.

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Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of Hindi Versions of Geriatric Depression Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire in Older Adults

Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1177/02537176211022159 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 025371762110221

Author(s):

Aseem Mehra ◽

Arun Agarwal ◽

Mohammad Bashar ◽

Sandeep Grover

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Rural Community ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Patient Health Questionnaire ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Geriatric Depression ◽

Patient Health

Background: A limited number of studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of rating scales used to assess depression in the older adults. The present study aimed to assess the validity of the Hindi Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS, 30, 15, 10, 5, 4, and 1 item version) and Hindi Patient Health Questionnaire (nine and two items version) in a group of older adults residing in a rural community. Methods: The psychometric properties of these scales were assessed against the diagnosis of depression a qualified psychiatrist made by using a semistructured interview. Results: Total 125 older adults were recruited from a rural community, with a mean age of 65.5 (SD: 6.4) years. The prevalence of depression was 36.8% as per the evaluation by the psychiatrist. When the agreement of different scales with the clinicians’ diagnosis was evaluated, it was seen that sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen Kappa value of GDS-30 and 15 were better than the other scales used to assess depression. When the sensitivity and specificity were evaluated using newer cutoffs, the specificity and sensitivity of GDS-30 were more than that of other scales. Conclusion: Hindi version of GDS-30 with a cutoff of 13 has excellent psychometric properties.

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The Collateral Source version of the Geriatric Depression Scale: evaluation of psychometric properties and discrepancy between collateral sources and patients with dementia in reporting depression

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610211000147 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (6) ◽

pp. 961-968 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Yu-Ping Chang ◽

Dorothy Farrar Edwards ◽

Helen W. Lach

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Sensitivity And Specificity ◽

Functional Limitations ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Screening Tools ◽

Geriatric Depression

ABSTRACTBackground: Depression is under-diagnosed and under-treated in older adults. The purposes of this study were to (a) evaluate the psychometric properties of the Collateral Source Geriatric Depression Scale (CS-GDS), (b) compare collateral source scores on the CS-GDS with patient scores on the GDS, and (c) examine factors associated with any discrepancies between the CS-GDS and the GDS.Methods: This secondary analysis used data from 132 older adults and their collateral sources attending a geriatric assessment program over a 15-month period. Scores on the 30-, 15-, and 5-item CS-GDS were compared to clinician diagnoses of depression using DSM-IV-TR criteria and patient GDS scores.Results: The three forms of the CS-GDS had acceptable internal consistency, sensitivity and specificity with recommended cut-off scores of 18, 9 and 3, respectively. Collateral sources reported more depressive symptoms than patients did themselves. Simple regression analysis showed that caregiver burden significantly influenced the discrepancy between CS-GDS scores and GDS scores (β = 0.147; p = 0.004). Functional limitations and collateral relations to the patient were not associated with these discrepancies.Conclusion: All three collateral versions had acceptable psychometric properties, which supports the use of the CS-GDS to assess depression in older adults. The CS-GDS provides an important alternative for depression screening with older adults who cannot complete screening tools themselves; however, alternative cut-off scores must be used for high sensitivity and specificity.

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