title: Factor structures of a Japanese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale and its correlation with the quality of life and functional ability.
abstract: We investigated the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) with regard to its factors and, reproducibility, as well as its relationship to activities of daily living, social factors, medical conditions, and quality of life for community-dwelling elderly people in Japan. The study population consisted of 736 community-dwelling elderly participants aged 65 or older. Exploratory factor analysis of the data and correlation coefficients between factors and activities of daily living, quality of life, social factors, and medical conditions were calculated for two consecutive years. The reproducibility of the results was also evaluated. As the result, GDS-15 had three reproducible factors specified as follows: factor I, "energy loss and pessimistic outlook"; factor II, "positive mental status (reversed)"; and factor III, "empty feeling." Comparing our findings with a review of research in this area, positive items (excluding "feel full of energy") seem to compose an universal factor. Factor I correlated best with quality of life, factor II with activities of daily living, and factor III with subjective cognitive function. These results suggest the GDS-15 can be used to assess the functional ability and quality of life, as well as depressive mood in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Field Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 46 Shimoadachi-sho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: ihits@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hissei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.affiliation: Medical Center East, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Gaku
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishimoto
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Field Medicine, Graduate School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fukutomi
authors.affiliation: Field Medicine, Graduate School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Wen-ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Asian and African Aria Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Sachi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.affiliation: Field Medicine, Graduate School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Mire
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Hakubi Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Taizo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Asian and African Aria Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyohito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okumiya
authors.affiliation: Medical Center East, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsubayashi
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Activities of daily living (ADLs); Cognitive function; Depression; Factor analysis; Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15); Quality of life (QOL)