GDS-15: Geriatric Depression Scale, Short Form

The Geriatric Depression Scale, short form (GDS-15) is a 15-question yes/no screen for depression in older adults. It asks how the person has felt over the past week, about things such as satisfaction with life, interest in activities, boredom, hopefulness and energy. The original 30-item scale was developed by Yesavage and colleagues (1983), and the 15-item short form by Sheikh and Yesavage (1986).

It was designed to suit older adults. It leaves out physical symptoms such as tiredness and poor sleep, which are common in older age for reasons other than depression, and its yes/no format is easy to complete.

The GDS-15 supports screening, a baseline measurement and monitoring of depression in older adults. A therapist reads it with the person's health, medicines, memory, grief, social support and daily functioning.

• Intake: a baseline when low mood is a concern in an older adult.
• Screening: flag people who may need a fuller assessment.
• Progress monitoring: repeat it and compare scores across sessions.
• Care settings: it is brief enough to use in clinics, homes and care homes.

The person answers fifteen questions, each Yes or No, choosing the answer that best describes how they have felt over the past week. It takes about 5 minutes. It can be read aloud to someone who has difficulty reading or seeing.

There is one total score, found in three steps.

1. Give 1 point for a No answer to questions 1, 5, 7, 11 and 13, and 1 point for a Yes answer to all the other questions. Every other answer scores 0.
2. Add the points. The total runs from 0 to 15.
3. Look the total up against the four ranges, below.

On MLC the scoring is built in: each answer carries its own score, so nothing needs working out by hand.

The total falls into one of four ranges.

A score of 5 or more is the usual point at which depression is suspected and a closer look is suggested. Some studies use 6 or more, and the best cut-off varies between groups. There is no single agreed threshold for a meaningful change when it is repeated.

These ranges are guides, not diagnoses. A normal score does not rule out depression, and a high score is a reason for a clinical assessment, not a conclusion.

No. None of its questions asks about suicide or self-harm, and older adults have a higher risk of suicide than many other groups, so a clinician needs to ask about risk directly, whatever the score is.

If you or someone you know is in distress or at risk right now, please see our crisis support page.

Crisis support

• It is a screen, not a diagnosis. Only a clinical assessment can diagnose depression.
• It is less reliable in people with moderate or severe dementia, for whom a clinical interview or a version designed for them is better.
• It covers the past week only, and relies on the person's own answers.
• Some people under-report low mood, and a normal score does not rule out depression.
• The best cut-off differs between populations, settings and languages.

The PHQ-9 is a general depression screen with four answers per question. The GDS-15 was built for older adults, has simple yes/no answers, and leaves out physical symptoms that can have other causes in older age. Its questions also include positive ones, such as feeling full of energy, so the yes/no answers that score are not all the same.

Many services use the GDS-15 with older adults and the PHQ-9 with younger ones, or use both and compare.

Read about the PHQ-9

The GDS-15 has been studied in many countries and settings. Reviews report that it detects depression in older adults with accuracy close to that of the longer 30-item scale, although the best cut-off varies between groups and it is less accurate in people with significant cognitive impairment. As with any cut-off, how well it works depends on the group tested, so findings from one population should not be assumed to hold for another.