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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Use of the GDS-15 Geriatric Depression Scale as a screening instrument for depressive symptomatology in patients with Parkinson's disease and their carers in the community | | Author(s) | Jolyon Meara, Eurian Mitchelmore, Peter Hobson |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 28, no 1, January 1999 |
| Pages | pp 35-38 |
| Keywords | Parkinson's disease ; Spouses as carers ; Depression ; Measurement ; Screening ; Social surveys ; Wales. |
| Annotation | The GDS-15 Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure self-rated depressive symptoms in a group of 132 subjects in North Wales with clinically probable Parkinson's disease (PD) randomly selected from a community-based disease register. Disease severity was assessed by the Webster scale, and cognitive function by the CAMCOG test. Carers of patients, who in this study were all spouses, were also asked to complete the GDS-15. 64% of our group of patients and 34% of carers scored within the "depressed" range on the GDS-15. Patients with high levels of depressive symptoms tended to have more severe disease, disease of longer duration, and more impaired cognitive function. The GDS score of the carer was best predicted by the GDS score of the patient being cared for. Less than 10% of patients and carers were being treated with antidepressant medication. This study confirms the high level of depressive symptoms in PD suggested by hospital- and clinic-based studies. The patient's level of depression appears to be an important determinant of carer distress and mood disorder, as reflected in GDS score. Despite high levels of depressive symptoms, very few subjects were receiving antidepressant drug therapy. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990427220 A |
| Classmark | CR6: P6:SN: ENR: 3R: 3V: 3F: 9 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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