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Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15)

Screens depressive symptoms in older adults with 15 yes/no questions and fewer somatic items than other scales.

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Check the population, units and version. The result shows the formula or classification; it does not make an automatic treatment decision.

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Method · Limits of application

GDS-15/Sheikh–Yesavage 1986: 15 items; reverse 1/5/7/11/13; Brazilian Almeida 1999 cutoff ≥6

A 15-item version for screening in older people. The Brazilian reliability study recruited a specialist outpatient clinic and excluded severe sensory/language barriers and cognitive impairment defined in the protocol. This does not establish universal eligibility. The 5/6 cutoff was reported from a cited validity study, not reestimated in this retest.

Required fields: 0/15 completed

Complete all required fields. Optional fields are marked.

1. Are you generally satisfied with your life? required

2. Have you given up many of your interests and activities? required

3. Do you feel that your life is empty? required

4. Do you often feel bored? required

5. Are you in good spirits most of the time? required

6. Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you? required

7. Do you feel happy most of the time? required

8. Do you feel there is no way out of your situation? required

9. Do you prefer staying at home to going out and doing new things? required

10. Do you feel that you have more memory problems than most people? required

11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive? required

12. Do you feel useless in your current circumstances? required

13. Do you feel full of energy? required

14. Do you feel your situation is hopeless? required

15. Do you feel that most people are better off than you? required

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Conditions of use

Check the population, units, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and version in the original source. A result alone does not establish a diagnosis, discharge decision or prescription.

Documented parameters

1. Are you generally satisfied with your life?
2. Have you given up many of your interests and activities?
3. Do you feel that your life is empty?
4. Do you often feel bored?
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time?
6. Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you?
7. Do you feel happy most of the time?
8. Do you feel there is no way out of your situation?
9. Do you prefer staying at home to going out and doing new things?
10. Do you feel that you have more memory problems than most people?
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive?
12. Do you feel useless in your current circumstances?
13. Do you feel full of energy?
14. Do you feel your situation is hopeless?
15. Do you feel that most people are better off than you?

4/4 reference cases checked. Numerical tests are not clinical validation.

Sources and documentation

Documented formula

Transcribed from the source or a recorded revision; this is not a clinical recommendation.

1 point for each depression-suggesting response: “no” on questions 1, 5, 7, 11 and 13; “yes” on the others. Total 0 to 15.

Brazilian-version cutoff (Almeida and Almeida, 1999): ≥ 6 suggests depression.

References

Identifier: gds-15

Original clinical content: Brazilian Portuguese.

Method version

GDS-15/Sheikh–Yesavage 1986: 15 items; reverse 1/5/7/11/13; Brazilian Almeida 1999 cutoff ≥6

gds-15@native-2026-10-03+6ee744024a79

Source for the active edition

The bibliographic edition identifies the source. By itself, it proves neither full conformity of the formula nor clinical approval.

Synthetic cases checked (4)

Synthetic cases for checking the implementation, with no patient data.

Case 1

reference-001

Inputs

1. Are you generally satisfied with your life?: Yes
2. Have you given up many of your interests and activities?: No
3. Do you feel that your life is empty?: No
4. Do you often feel bored?: No
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time?: Yes
6. Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you?: No
7. Do you feel happy most of the time?: Yes
8. Do you feel there is no way out of your situation?: No
9. Do you prefer staying at home to going out and doing new things?: No
10. Do you feel that you have more memory problems than most people?: No
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive?: Yes
12. Do you feel useless in your current circumstances?: No
13. Do you feel full of energy?: Yes
14. Do you feel your situation is hopeless?: No
15. Do you feel that most people are better off than you?: No

{
  "q1": "0",
  "q2": "0",
  "q3": "0",
  "q4": "0",
  "q5": "0",
  "q6": "0",
  "q7": "0",
  "q8": "0",
  "q9": "0",
  "q10": "0",
  "q11": "0",
  "q12": "0",
  "q13": "0",
  "q14": "0",
  "q15": "0"
}

Expected result

{
  "score": 0,
  "level": "low"
}

Actual result

{
  "score": 0
}

Case 2

reference-002

Inputs

1. Are you generally satisfied with your life?: No
2. Have you given up many of your interests and activities?: No
3. Do you feel that your life is empty?: No
4. Do you often feel bored?: Yes
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time?: Yes
6. Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you?: No
7. Do you feel happy most of the time?: Yes
8. Do you feel there is no way out of your situation?: No
9. Do you prefer staying at home to going out and doing new things?: Yes
10. Do you feel that you have more memory problems than most people?: Yes
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive?: Yes
12. Do you feel useless in your current circumstances?: No
13. Do you feel full of energy?: No
14. Do you feel your situation is hopeless?: No
15. Do you feel that most people are better off than you?: No

{
  "q1": "1",
  "q2": "0",
  "q3": "0",
  "q4": "1",
  "q5": "0",
  "q6": "0",
  "q7": "0",
  "q8": "0",
  "q9": "1",
  "q10": "1",
  "q11": "0",
  "q12": "0",
  "q13": "1",
  "q14": "0",
  "q15": "0"
}

Expected result

{
  "score": 5,
  "level": "low"
}

Actual result

{
  "score": 5
}

Case 3

reference-003

Inputs

1. Are you generally satisfied with your life?: No
2. Have you given up many of your interests and activities?: Yes
3. Do you feel that your life is empty?: No
4. Do you often feel bored?: Yes
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time?: Yes
6. Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you?: No
7. Do you feel happy most of the time?: No
8. Do you feel there is no way out of your situation?: No
9. Do you prefer staying at home to going out and doing new things?: Yes
10. Do you feel that you have more memory problems than most people?: No
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive?: Yes
12. Do you feel useless in your current circumstances?: No
13. Do you feel full of energy?: No
14. Do you feel your situation is hopeless?: No
15. Do you feel that most people are better off than you?: No

{
  "q1": "1",
  "q2": "1",
  "q3": "0",
  "q4": "1",
  "q5": "0",
  "q6": "0",
  "q7": "1",
  "q8": "0",
  "q9": "1",
  "q10": "0",
  "q11": "0",
  "q12": "0",
  "q13": "1",
  "q14": "0",
  "q15": "0"
}

Expected result

{
  "score": 6,
  "level": "mid"
}

Actual result

{
  "score": 6
}

Case 4

reference-004

Inputs

1. Are you generally satisfied with your life?: No
2. Have you given up many of your interests and activities?: Yes
3. Do you feel that your life is empty?: Yes
4. Do you often feel bored?: Yes
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time?: No
6. Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you?: Yes
7. Do you feel happy most of the time?: No
8. Do you feel there is no way out of your situation?: Yes
9. Do you prefer staying at home to going out and doing new things?: Yes
10. Do you feel that you have more memory problems than most people?: Yes
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive?: No
12. Do you feel useless in your current circumstances?: Yes
13. Do you feel full of energy?: No
14. Do you feel your situation is hopeless?: Yes
15. Do you feel that most people are better off than you?: Yes

{
  "q1": "1",
  "q2": "1",
  "q3": "1",
  "q4": "1",
  "q5": "1",
  "q6": "1",
  "q7": "1",
  "q8": "1",
  "q9": "1",
  "q10": "1",
  "q11": "1",
  "q12": "1",
  "q13": "1",
  "q14": "1",
  "q15": "1"
}

Expected result

{
  "score": 15,
  "level": "high"
}

Actual result

{
  "score": 15
}

Code and reproducibility

This tool’s code on GitHub

Download code and tests

Sources, version and reproduction instructions

The code tests are technical checks. Clinical approval and professional translation review are recorded separately.

Relationship with cancer research

General context — relationship to be defined

A resource for general clinical contexts. This edition does not assign a specific oncological relationship; selecting it for a study requires a justified question, population and purpose.