Application of DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive episode to elderly subjects with and without dementia

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to see how DSM-III-R criteria for a major depressive episode functioned in a representative sample of elderly subjects with and without dementia. Method: Data were used from a population-based study of individuals 75 years old or older living in Stockholm. Subjects were screened for dementia by using the Mini-Mental State. Subjects with scores of 23 or lower as well as age- and sex-matched subjects with scores of 24 or higher were given a medical examination. Dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-III-R and staged for severity by using the Washington University Clinical Dementia Rating Scale. The Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale was u..