[Prevalence of depressive disorders among frail elderly, assessed by psychogeriatricians, general practitioners and geriatricians].
The prevalence of depressive disorders (D) in 70 years of age or older frail elderly was studied. Two hundred and eleven (81%) recipients of Municipal Home Help Service (frail elderly) in a rural area of Jutland were included and screened by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS). If participants had: a) a GDS-score > or = 5 points or/and b) a history of depression, further evaluation was given by: 1) general practitioners (GPs) (implicit criteria), 2) a psycho-geriatrician (ICD-10 criteria), and 3) a geriatrician with the Hamilton Test for Depression. Prevalence rates for D among the evaluators: 15-18%. The diagnostic agreement was only fair.


CONCLUSIONS
18% of the studied population fulfilled the ICD-10 research criteria for depression. The GDS may help GPs in diagnosing depression among frail elderly. False GDS negatives, found among GDS negatives with a history of depression, should be evaluated thoroughly when identifying depression in the target group.
Djernes
J K
JK
Psykiatriske Sygehus, gerontopsykiatrisk afdeling, Viborg.
Kvist
E
E
Gulmann
N C
NC
Munk-Jørgensen
P
P
Olesen
F
F
Møgelsvang
S
S
Kehler
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005852:Geriatric Psychiatry; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012424:Rural Population; D013038:Specialization