title: PTSD checklist scoring rules for elderly Veterans Affairs outpatients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the diagnostic performance of the PTSD Checklist (PCL) for three age groups (<50, 50-64, and ≥65 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  The PCL was compared with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, a gold standard for the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. Receiver operating characteristic curves and the corresponding area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and measures of sensitivity and specificity were used to assess the performance of and to determine optimal cutscores for the PCL across the three groups. Analyses were based on 858 randomly selected primary care patients who participated in a study conducted at four Veterans Administration medical centers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AUCs were high for all three age groups (87.55%-88.26%), and there were no significant differences in AUCs across age groups χ(2). Optimal cutscores, however, varied considerably: 24 for the oldest group, 34 for the middle group, and 43 for the youngest group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recommend use of lower PCL cutscore for older Veterans Administration primary care patients.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Service, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Electronic address: yeagerde@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Derik E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Yeager
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Service, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Magruder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D057189:Checklist; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: PTSD; elderly; screening
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