Does the geriatric depression scale have utility for measuring depression severity?

The prevalence of major depression ranges from 1% to 16% among elderly living in private households or in institutions, and in similar settings "patients" with clinically relevant depressive symptoms vary between 7.2% and 49% (Djernes, 2006). Community studies looking at point prevalence of depression in older people suggest rates between 10% and 20% depending on cultural situations (Rodda et al., 2011).