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Depression in the elderly in Vellore, South India: the use of a two-question screen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2009

S. S. Biswas ,
R. Gupta ,
H. A. Vanjare ,
S. Bose ,
J. A. Patel ,
S. Selvarajan ,
J. Aaron ,
E. Nitya ,
D. S. Iyer  and
N. S. M. Jacob
...Show all authors
S. S. Biswas
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
R. Gupta
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
H. A. Vanjare
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
S. Bose
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
J. A. Patel
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
S. Selvarajan
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
J. Aaron
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
E. Nitya
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
D. S. Iyer
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
N. S. M. Jacob
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
K. R. John
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
K. S. Jacob*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: K.S. Jacob, Professor of Psychiatry, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632002, India. Phone: +91 416 2284513; Fax: +91 416 2262268. Email: ksjacob@cmcvellore.ac.in.
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Abstract

Background: Depression in the elderly is a common and disabling condition. The aim of the study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a two-question screen to identify depression and common mental disorders in the elderly.

Method: Residents of a ward in the town of Vellore were identified by a door-to-door survey from which 204 subjects aged over 60 years were selected for the study by systematic random sampling. They were screened using the two-question screen. The Revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) was employed to confirm the diagnosis.

Results: The prevalence of depression and common mental disorder, using the CIS-R standard, was found to be 31.5%. The two-question screen has a sensitivity of 93.8% and specificity of 48.2%.

Conclusions: The high sensitivity of the two-question screen makes it a useful screening method which can be employed by health workers in the field.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 369 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2009

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References

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