HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Bonin-Guillaume, S. Articles by Blin, O. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bonin-Guillaume, S. Articles by Blin, O.

RRS-4: Short Version of the Retardation Rating Scale to Screen for Depression in Elderly Inpatients

From the Service de Médecine Interne–Gériatrie, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, Hôpital Nord, 13915 Marseille Cedex 20 (SB-G); and CPCET et Pharmacologie Clinique, Institut des Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée, Faculté de Médecine, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, Hôpital de la Timone, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France (SB-G, EJ, LS, EF, OB).

Objectives: To develop a short version of the Retardation Rating Scale (RRS), an observer scale recently validated in geriatric inpatients.

Methods: A neuropsychologist used a structured interview to assess 165 geriatric medical inpatients with the observer-rated Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Montgomery and Asberg Rating Scale and RRS, and completed the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale; 107 met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition clinical criteria for depression according to a gerontopsychiatrist’s independent evaluation. A statistical model was applied to ascertain the most relevant RRS items; the psychometric properties of the four retained (RRS-4) were compared with standard scales.

Results: RRS-4 psychometric properties were good: internal consistency (Cronbach alpha-coefficient = 0.81), positive concurrent validity with each of the standard depression scales (Spearman’s r = 0.68–0.82) and the total RRS score (Pearson’s r = 0.93). Considering clinical evaluation the "gold standard" for depression, a threshold of three yielded: 88% positive-predictive value, 68% negative-predictive value, with 88% accuracy for predicting depression exceeding the standard observer depression scales by 23%.

Conclusion: RRS-4 is a brief and easy-to-use observer scale that improves depression identification in elderly medical inpatients.

Key Words: Retardation Rating Scale short version • geriatric depression • medical inpatients