The scale is well validated in this population for both major and minor depression, and has high
sensitivity and specificity in its 30-item version. The shorter
versions of the GDS are also well validated, with the 10-item
GDS being recommended as the best tradeoff between ease of
administration and sensitivity in nursing home patients.25
The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia26 is a validated
instrument for demented patients in general although it has
not been specifically validated in demented patients in nursing
homes. The scale is a semi-structured interview of an
informed caregiver, and thus its validity in the nursing home
setting cannot be assumed. However, it has been compared to
the GDS and found to have better validity in demented
patients than the GDS.