Validation of the five-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5) in a Turkish elderly population

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 = 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