Abstract

AGUILAR-NAVARRO, Sara Gloria; FUENTES-CANTU, Alejandro; AVILA-FUNES, José Alberto  and  GARCIA-MAYO, Emilio José. Validity and reliability of the screening questionnaire for geriatric depression used in the Mexican Health and Age Study. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2007, vol.49, n.4, pp.256-262. ISSN 0036-3634.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the validity and reliability of a geriatric depression questionnaire used in the Mexican Health and Age Study (MHAS). METHODS: The study was conducted at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ) clinic from May 2005 to March 2006. This depression screening nine-item questionnaire was validated using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) (fourth revised version) and Yesavage's 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) criteria. The instrument belongs to the MHAS, a prospective panel study of health and aging in Mexico. RESULTS: A total of 199 subjects 65 years of age and older participated in the validation process (median age= 79.5 years). MHAS questionnaire result was significantly correlated to the clinical depression diagnosis (p<0.001) and to the GDS-15 score (p<0.001). Internal consistency was adequate (alpha coefficient: 0.74). The cutoff point e" 5/9 points yielded an 80.7% and 68.7% sensitivity and specificity respectively. The fidelity for the test retest was excellent (intra-class correlation coefficient= 0.933). Finally, the Bland and Altman agreement points indicated a difference 0.22 percent points between test retest. CONCLUSION: The MHAS questionnaire is valid and trustworthy, and allows screening in the research field for the presence of depression in the elderly.

Keywords : depression; questionnaires; validation studies; elderly; straining; Mexico.

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