Original Article

Depressive symptoms in the elderly: analysis of the items of the Geriatric Depression Scale* Sintomas depressivos em idosos: análise dos itens da Escala de Depressão Geriátrica Síntomas depresivos en ancianos: análisis de los items de la Escala de Depresión Geriátrica Márcia Regina Martins Alvarenga1, Maria Amélia de Campos Oliveira2, Odival Faccenda3 ABSTRACT

Objectives: To verify the factor structure of the Geriatric Depression Scale of 15 items (GDS 15) in a sample of elderly people assisted by the Family Health Strategy, to describe their social profile, and to analyze the responses to items on the Scale. Methods: A cross-sectional study interviewing 503 elderly assisted by the Family Health Strategy, in Dourados, MS (Brazil). To analyze the responses of the GDS 15, we used the Mantel-Haenzsel chi-square test (p