Use of Yesavage’s Geriatric Depression Scale to evaluate the prevalence of depression in inpatient elderly subjects <b>[Abstract in English]</b>

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of depression in elderly hospitalized in a tertiary hospital, through the application of Yesavage ’s Geriatric Depression Scale, short version (GDS-15). Methods: Cross-sectional study, for which a consecutive sampling was carried out, where hospitalized patients over 60 years of age were included, from the Geriatric Division of Hospital São Lucas/PUCRS, from November 2005 to July 2006. For all patients three scales (GDS-15, Mini Mental State Examination and Katz ADL Scale) were applied. Results: Sixteen patients from a total of 50 were male and 34 female. The majority of them was over 80 years old, single, divorced or widowers. Based on the GDS score, 23 (46%) of all studied individuals presented depression. Nineteen patients (38%) had related sadness as objective symptom and 39 (78%) presented the full Activities of the Daily Life. The correlation between the MMSE score and GDS-15 score was inverse and significant. Conclusions: We can observe on this study the high prevalence of this illness and its influence in all aspects of elderly’s life. KEY WORDS: DEPRESSION; SCALES; AGED; INPATIENTS.