Centre for Policy on Ageing



Depression in dementia — a comparative and validation study of four brief scales in the elderly Chinese
Author(s)	Chee Kum Lam, P'ing Ping Joy Lim, Bee Lee Low
Journal title	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 19, no 5, May 2004
Pages	pp 422-428
Source	http://www.interscience.wiley.com
Keywords	Chinese people ; Depression ; Dementia ; Evaluation ; Singapore.
Annotation	The diagnostic accuracy of four brief depression scales was determined: the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Even Briefer Assessment Scale for Depression (EBAS DEP), Single Question, and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (Cornell). Of these, the Cornell had the best diagnostic performance in detecting depression in dementia in older Chinese people in Singapore. Diagnosing depression in dementia becomes increasingly difficult as dementia advances, which is reflected in the higher optimal cut-off values of the GDS, EBAS DEP and Cornell as one moves from the mild to the moderate-severe dementia group. A suggested approach for busy general practitioners (GPs) to efficiently detect depression in older patients with dementia is to first administer the Single Question, followed by, when needed, the Cornell scale. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-040622204 A
Classmark	TKL: ENR: EA: 4C: 7XD
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.