Screening a Skilled Nursing Home Population for Depression

The population resident in the skilled nursing home of a Veterans Administration Hospital on the 27th of June 1988 was screened for the presence of depression. Only 74% of the patients (59 of 80) were able to complete most of the screening battery: the Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination, the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Hamilton Depression Scale. Thirty-four percent of the sample (20 of 59) met the criteria for a DSM-III-R psychiatric diagnosis; 22% (13 patients) had a major depressive disorder, and 12% (seven patients) had an adjustment disorder with depressed mood. The 15-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale was more effective than the Hamilton Depression Scale as a screening instrument in this population of frail elderly veterans who had multiple and severe medical problems (end-stage cardiac disease, progressive myasthenia gravis, terminal pulmonary disease, and multiple cerebrovascular accidents) that limited verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as physical endurance.