Screening for Depression in Old Age With Very Short Instruments: The DIA-S4 Compared to the GDS5 and GDS4.

This article presents a short form of the Depression in old Age Scale with four items (DIA-S4). The diagnostic accuracy of the DIA-S4 was tested and compared to short forms of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS5, GDS4). Using the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as gold standard, the scales were validated with a sample of  = 331 geriatric inpatients. The DIA-S4 had an internal consistency of .70, the GDS5 of .55, and the GDS4 of .58. The test efficiency considering ROC analyses for the DIAS-4 was AUC = .86, for the GDS5 AUC = .78, and for the GDS4 AUC = .74. The best cut-off score for the DIA-S4 was 1.5 with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 68%, for the GDS4 1.5 with a sensitivity of 58% and a specificity of 81%, and for the GDS5 1.5 with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 49%. Based on the data of this study, the DIA-S4 shows better psychometrical qualities than the GDS5 and the GDS4. It can be used as a very short screening scale for depression in old age in research and clinical practice.