Depression, a common and treatable psychiatric disorder in later life, is often overlooked in geriatric medical patients. The authors evaluated the validity of 2 self-rating depression scales, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Popoff Index of Depression, for 55 elderly patients. They compared these ratings with the diagnosis assigned by a psychiatrist who was blind to scale results and who interviewed these patients using DSM-II (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III) criteria. The 2 scales correctly classified 80 and 69% of the subjects, respectively. Six items were identified from the 2 scales that may serve as a simple screening instrument for the detection of depression in geriatric medical patients.