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. 2020 May;17(5):481-486.
doi: 10.30773/pi.2019.0299. Epub 2020 May 15.

Clinical Usefulness of the Geriatric Depression Scale to Identify the Elderly at Risk of Suicide

Hyunsuk Jeong  1 , Beomwoo Nam  2 , Sun-Jin Jo  1 , Won-Chul Lee  1 , Hyeon Woo Yim  1
Affiliations

Clinical Usefulness of the Geriatric Depression Scale to Identify the Elderly at Risk of Suicide

Hyunsuk Jeong et al. Psychiatry Investig. 2020 May.

Abstract

Objective: Population-based suicidal screening can be an important intervention method to reduce suicidal attempt rate in community. However, directly asking about suicidal behavior may be burdensome to non-mental health workers. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) in identifying the elderly at risk of suicide in community.

Methods: Nine hundred forty-eight over 60 years of age participated in this study. All participants completed the GDS-15. A trained interviewer interviewed each participant for suicidality including suicidal ideation, plan, and prior attempt using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV.

Results: When the cut-off score of 10 in the GDS-15 was applied to identify the elderly at risk of suicide, the proportion of directly asking about suicidal behavior by non-mental health workers was reduced by 33.1%; however, 19.5% at risk of suicide were missed. When the cut-off was changed to 6, 100% at risk of suicide were covered by the GDS-15.

Conclusion: Screening for suicidality using GDS-15 is a promising way to reduce the proportion of directly asking about suicidal behavior by non-mental health workers among the high-risk suicidal elderly in a community setting.

Keywords: Elderly; Geriatric Depression Scale; Screening; Suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves of the performance of the two-stage screening strategy in discriminating between participants at risk for suicide and those who are not. At risk for suicide refers to anyone who had planned or attempted suicide. *depression cut-off point (10), †cut-off point included 100% of those in at risk for suicide (6). GDS: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), AUC: area under the curve.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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