Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Feb;41(2):18-25.
doi: 10.3928/00989134-20150115-01.

Late-life depression detection

Marianne Smith, Christine Haedtke, Deborah Shibley

Late-life depression detection

Marianne Smith et al. J Gerontol Nurs. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

The disability associated with late life depression makes it an important target for screening. Identifying clinically significant depression symptoms in older adults who have known risk factors provides an important opportunity for early evaluation and treatment. Screening that leads to evaluation and treatment is critical to both preventing depression, and reducing the associated disability, symptom burden, and costs of major depressive disorders (MDD). The guideline described here recommends the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for screening because it is based on diagnostic criteria for MDD and has the advantages of being brief, self-administered, easily scored and interpreted, and reliable and valid in diverse populations and care settings. Nurses and allied health professionals who provide care to older adults across the continuum of care are uniquely positioned to identify at risk older adults, use depression screening scales, make needed referrals for evaluation and treatment, and monitor outcomes across time.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Depression Detection Flowchart
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Acee AM. Detecting and managing depression in type II diabetes: PHQ-9 is the answer! Medsurg Nurs. 2010;19(1):32–38. - PubMed
    1. Alexandrino-Silva C, Alves TF, Tofoli LF, Wang YP, Andrade LH. Psychiatry: life events and social support in late life depression. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2011;66(2):233–238. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alexopoulos GS, Abrams RC, Young RC, Shamoian CA. Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Biological Psychiatry. 1988;23(3):271–284. - PubMed
    1. Almeida OP, Alfonso H, Pirkis J, Kerse N, Sim M, Flicker L, et al. A practical approach to assess depression risk and to guide risk reduction strategies in later life. Int Psychogeriatr. 2011;23(2):280–291. - PubMed
    1. Anstey KJ, von Sanden C, Sargent-Cox K, Luszcz MA. Prevalence and risk factors for depression in a longitudinal, population-based study including individuals in the community and residential care. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007;15(6):497–505. - PubMed