University of Iowa
Department
of Family Medicine
FPInfo: Resources to support patient care
General Clinical Resources - Calculators and Forms - Geriatric Depression Scale
Choose the best answer for how you have felt over the past
week:
1. Are you basically satisfied with your life? YES / NO
2. Have you dropped many of your activities and interests? YES
/ NO
3. Do you feel that your life is empty? YES / NO
4. Do you often get bored? YES / NO
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time? YES / NO
6. Are you afraid that something bad is going to happen to
you? YES / NO
7. Do you feel happy most of the time? YES / NO
8. Do you often feel helpless? YES / NO
9. Do you prefer to stay at home, rather than going out
and doing new things? YES / NO
10. Do you feel you have more problems with memory than most?
YES / NO
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now?
YES / NO
12. Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now?
YES / NO
13. Do you feel full of energy? YES
/ NO
14. Do you feel that your situation is hopeless?
YES / NO
15. Do you think that most people are better off than you are? YES / NO
Although differing sensitivities and specificities have been obtained across
studies, for clinical purposes a score > 5 points is suggestive of depression
and should warrant a follow-up interview. Scores > 10 are almost always
depression.
1. no 2. yes 3. yes 4. yes 5. no
6. yes 7.no 8. yes 9. yes
10. yes 11. no 12. yes 13. no 14. yes 15. yes