title: The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) detects changes in depressive symptoms after a major negative life event. The Leiden 85-plus Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) is a widely used screening instrument for depressive symptoms in the elderly, but its ability to detect alterations in depressive symptoms over time has not been established.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the change of the GDS-15 score after a major negative life event.
  
  
  METHODS
  Within the Leiden 85-plus Study, we prospectively followed a population-based cohort of 599 subjects from 85 years onwards. The GDS-15 was applied annually to participants with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score above 18 points. The change in GDS-15 score of 32 subjects who had lost their partner during follow-up was compared with a control group of 32 subjects who had not lost their partner, matched for age, sex, and initial GDS-15 score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 241 subjects lived together with a partner. During a mean follow-up of 3.2 years, 55 participants (23%) lost their partner. Of those, 32 subjects completed the GDS-15 before and after the loss of their partner. All subjects reported the bereavement to be a major negative life event. The mean increase of the GDS-15 score after the death of a partner was 1.2 points (paired t-test, p = 0.013). This was significantly higher than the mean change of -0.06 points in the matched control group (independent t-test, p = 0.032), and independent of sex, level of education, pre-bereavement GDS-15 score, and time period since the loss of a partner.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that the GDS-15 detects change in depressive symptoms after loss of a partner, a negative life event that is the most important risk factor for depression in the elderly. Therefore, it may be concluded that the GDS-15 has the ability to measure longitudinal alterations in depressive symptomatology.
authors.affiliation: Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of General Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands. d.j.vinkers@lumc.nl
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Vinkers
authors.forename: Jacobijn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gussekloo
authors.forename: Max L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stek
authors.forename: Rudi G J
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Westendorp
authors.forename: Roos C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Van Der Mast
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001601:Bereavement; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales