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Clinical Gerontologist Volume 46, 2023 - Issue 4
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Review

A Scoping Review of the Measurement of Depression in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment

Georgia Majora Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaView further author information
, MPsych(Ed & Dev),
Anne-Marie Bagnallb School of Health and Community Studies, Leeds Beckett UniversityLeeds, United KingdomORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1512-0833View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon,
Sunil Bharc Psychology Department, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9260-7368View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon,
Christina Bryantd Emeritus, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4728-981XView further author information
, PhDORCID Icon,
Briony Dowa Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;d Emeritus, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaView further author information
, PhD,
David Duntd Emeritus, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaView further author information
, PhD,
Marcia Fearna Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaView further author information
, BA(Hons),
Robin Harpera Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaView further author information
, GradDip(Comp),
Wing-Yin Leunga Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1991-2686View further author information
, BPsych(Hons)ORCID Icon,
George Mnatzaganiane The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;f Paramedicine, La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, AustraliaORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7698-5091View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon,
Bridget O’Breea Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaView further author information
, MPsych(Clin) &
Colleen Doylea Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;c Psychology Department, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaCorrespondence[email protected]
ORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8319-4944View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon show all
Pages 498-510 | Published online: 26 Sep 2022
 
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ABSTRACT

Objectives

Depression and cognitive impairment are disabling conditions that commonly occur together in older adults. The interaction is challenging when choosing appropriate measurement scales. This review aimed to summarize the scales to measure depression symptoms in older people with cognitive impairment, investigating how cognitive impairment is related to the choice of measurement, and how the setting may affect the choice of measurement.

Methods

A scoping review of literature published between 2015 and 2021.

Results

After screening 1580 articles, 26 were included in the review with 11 different measures of depression symptoms identified. The measures mostly commonly used were the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-Q). Most studies did not report on the usability of depression scales used with people with cognitive impairment and only two scales (CSDD and NPI-Q, not GDS) have been validated for use with this population.

Conclusions

Severe cognitive impairment was under-represented in the identified studies, and no association was detected between study setting, cognitive impairment and type of measure used.

Clinical Implications

Clinicians and researchers should consider both the cognitive status of participants and the setting they live in when choosing a measure of depression symptoms.

Clinical implications

  • Clinicians and researchers should consider the appropriateness of a depression scale to the setting and cognitive capacity of participants.

  • Choosing an appropriate scale to measure depression symptoms can help with valid reliable screening of depression symptoms and facilitate a more thorough assessment of depression by a trained clinician.

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this paper was submitted by the lead author as part of a Master of Psychology (Educational and Developmental).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The data for this paper is not available because it is a literature review.

Additional information

Funding

Funding was received from National Health and Medical Research Council Australia, Beyond Blue and Perpetual Impact.

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