CARACTERÍSTICAS Y UTILIDAD DE LA ESCALA DE DEPRESION GERIÁTRICA EN ADULTOS MAYORES PANAMEÑOS

INTRODUCTION. Depression in geriatric patients consists of symptoms and specific clinical features that represent a serious condition that predisposes to alterations in the functionality of this population. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a brief screening instrument that is easily administered and widely used in the clinic and in research settings to detect depressive symptoms. OBJETIVE. To analyze the utility of the GDS to detect clinically relevant depressive symptoms in older adults attending the outpatient geriatric service of the Complejo Hospitalario Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid (C.H.Dr.A.A.M.). METHODS. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted. Older adults aged 65 years old or more who participated in the Panama Aging Research Initiative study were selected. In total, 423 participants were recruited in the study. Of these, 144 participants completed the psychiatric evaluation and the Spanish version of the GDS -30. RESULTS. In the sample, 16.7% of participants were diagnosed with depression after the psychiatric interview. The positive predictive value of the GDS -30 was 44.4% and the negative predictive value was 92.6%. CONCLUSION. Based on the high negative predictive value of the GDS, it is recommended as a practical means to rule out cases of non - depression, applying it as a screening instrument in primary care of older adults.