Electronic Letters to:

Original papers:
Candida R. Graham, Sube Banerjee, and Randeep S. Gill
Using postal questionnaires to identify carer depression prior to initial patient contact
Psychiatr Bull 2009; 33: 169-171 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]
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[Read eLetter] Limitations of the study
krishna mohan Gangineni   (10 June 2009)

Limitations of the study 10 June 2009
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krishna mohan Gangineni,
Specialist Registar in Psychiatry
ABM University NHS Trust

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Re: Limitations of the study

kgangineni{at}doctors.org.uk krishna mohan Gangineni

This study has again highlighted the psychological morbidity the carers of older adults face. The study has been able to identify depression in the carers which eventually would lead to better care of older adults with disability. Even though Authors have been to identify the limitations, the use of geriatric depression scale it self has its own limitations. The score used by authors to identify depression was >5 which only suggests the probability rather certainity.Score>10 would be almost indicative of depression. The study doesn’t mention whether carers who scored above 5 had any comprehensive assessment which was suggested by creators of Geriatric Depression Scale. The other limitation of this scale is that it enquires about how the person was in the last one week which doesn’t correlate with diagnostic guidelines of depression.

Reference: 1)Sheikh JI, Yesavage JA: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS): Recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clinical Gerontology : A Guide to Assessment and Intervention 165-173, NY: The Haworth Press