Effect of age on geriatric depression scale performance in Parkinson's disease

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the validity of the 15‐item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS‐15) in nonelderly (75 years) patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). 57 nonelderly, 88 young‐elderly, and 81 old‐elderly PD patients were administered the GDS‐15 and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV depression module. Receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for GDS‐15 scores against a DSM‐IV diagnosis of major or minor depression. The discriminant validity of the GDS‐15 was high for nonelderly, young‐elderly, and old‐elderly subjects (ROC area under curve = 0.92, 0.91, and 0.95, respectively), with optimal dichotomization at a cut‐off of 4/5 (85% sensitivity and 84% specificity in nonelderly; 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity in young‐elderly) and 5/6 (90% sensitivity and 90% specificity in old‐elderly). In conclusion, the GDS‐15 has comparable validity in younger and older PD patients, suggesting its appropriateness as a depression screening instrument in PD patients of all ages. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society

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