title: Factor structure of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression in a cohort of community-dwelling elderly.
abstract: We examined the factor structure of the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRS-D) in 206 community-dwelling elderly patients. Using principal components analysis and quartimax rotation, a four-factor structure involving all 17 items and accounting for 57.7% of the variance was desired. The factors represented the following dimensions of depressive symptomatology and illness: depressed affect, vegetative symptoms, anxiety, and agitation/insight. This factor structure reflects the presentation of depressive symptomatology and depressive illness in this population. Findings suggest that the HRS-D can be used for clinical assessment of depressive symptomatology along major dimensions of depressive illness in community-dwelling elderly.
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health Sciences University, School of Nursing, Gerontology Division, Portland 97201, USA.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Onega
authors.forename: I L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Abraham
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003158:Community Psychiatry; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005852:Geriatric Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged