The Geriatric Depression Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory as screening instruments in an older adult outpatient population.

Older adult outpatients with major depression (n=25) and healthy control subjects (n=25) were compared using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Both measures were sensitive in detecting clinical depression. Subjects were, however, more likely to endorse multiple responses in BDI items, suggesting that the GDS is simpler for older adults to complete. Viewed within the context of previous relevant research that used these instruments to compare older dults, our results yield additional evidence of cross-study consistency in the functional efficiency of both measures