Year: 2010 Source: American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, v.18, no.3, (March 2010), p.256-265 SIEC No: 20100783

First-time psychiatric outpatients in Hong Kong responded to the Geriatric Depression Scale (4-, 5-, & 15-item versions). The performance of the scales was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves. Analyses were conducted separately for young-old (60-74 years) & old-old (aged 75 & older) adults. Both the 4- & the 5-item versions were found to be excellent alternatives to the 15-item scale, & all are reasonable tools for detecting the presence of suicide ideation. However, to improve the effectiveness of screeening, brief measures of suicide risk should also be included; even a 1-item measure of suicide ideation could improve clinical decisions tremendously. (33 refs.) JA