Background: Depression among the elderly population frequently goes undetected or misdiagnosed probably due to the lack of awareness involving the symptoms in the early stages, or otherwise mistaking the symptoms as common traits of the aging process. Lacking of validated Bangla screening tool for diagnosis of Geriatric Depression in Bangladesh attempted to quantify and address the problem in our country. Objectives: The objective of this study was carried out to validate Bangla version of Geriatric Depression Scale among Bangladeshi elderly population. Material and Methods: This was a cross sectional study, conducted from Jan2011to June 2011 at Bangladesh Association of the Aged and Institute of Geriatric Medicine. Purposive sampling technique was used for patients 57 years old and above irrespective of sex attended outdoor of the same institution .Patients having significant cognitive impairment using Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE <24/30) and with history or presence of psychotic or Bipolar Mood Disorder were excluded. A research assistant administered the Bangla version of GDS to a convenience sample of 100 elderly people .A psychiatrist examined all elderly people using the Structure Clinical Interview for DSM-IV diagnosis for depression. Results: Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.918.The optimal Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) cut-off score of Bangla GDS was 5 with a sensitivity of 82.6%, specificity of 96.1 %, and positive predictive value of 86.4 % and negative predictive value of 94.9 %. Conclusion: The Bangla GDS is thus a valid and reliable screening scale for identifying GD in Bangladesh.
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