Depression screening in older adults. Free to use.
GDS-15 (Geriatric Depression Scale — 15-item) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess depression screening in older adults. The instrument contains 15 items.
Source / attribution: Sheikh JI, Yesavage JA. Clin Gerontol 1986 (public domain)
The instrument's primary construct — depression screening in older adults — is operationalized through a fixed set of items, each with a defined response format. This standardisation is what allows GDS-15 scores to be compared meaningfully across clinicians, sites, and studies.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, GDS-15 is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 15 items below to see your GDS-15 score and interpretation.
Each item is scored on a 2-point scale (0–1). Your score updates live as you answer.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
GDS-15 uses simple summation: each item's selected response is converted to a numeric value, and the values are added to produce a total score. Reverse-scored items are inverted before summation.
Scoring notes: Screening tool, not a diagnostic instrument. Educational use only.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | Normal | No depression suggested. |
| 5–8 | Mild depression | Mild depression — discuss with clinician. |
| 9–11 | Moderate depression | Moderate depression — clinical assessment indicated. |
| 12–15 | Severe depression | Severe depression — urgent clinical assessment. |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Are you basically satisfied with your life? | Yes | 0 |
| 2 | Have you dropped many of your activities and interests? | Yes | 1 |
| 3 | Do you feel that your life is empty? | No | 0 |
| 4 | Do you often get bored? | Yes | 1 |
| 5 | Are you in good spirits most of the time? | Yes | 0 |
| 6 | Are you afraid that something bad will happen to you? | Yes | 1 |
| 7 | Do you feel happy most of the time? | Yes | 0 |
| 8 | Do you often feel helpless? | Yes | 1 |
| 9 | Do you prefer staying home, rather than going out and doing new things? | No | 0 |
| 10 | Do you feel you have more problems with memory than most? | Yes | 1 |
| 11 | Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now? | Yes | 0 |
| 12 | Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now? | Yes | 1 |
| 13 | Do you feel full of energy? | Yes | 0 |
| 14 | Do you feel that your situation is hopeless? | Yes | 1 |
| 15 | Do you think most people are better off than you? | No | 0 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
0 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 1 + … (items 9–15 sum to 3) = 7
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 7 falls between 5 and 8 → Mild depression
Mild depression. Mild depression — discuss with clinician.
A score is one input alongside history and examination. GDS-15 supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
If GDS-15 doesn't fit your context, related instruments in geriatrics include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barthel Index | Functional independence in ADLs | 10 | — |
| Katz ADL | Functional independence in basic ADLs | 6 | — |
| CAM | Bedside delirium screen | 4 | — |
| Lawton IADL | Functional independence in instrumental ADLs | 8 | — |
| Timed Up and Go | Mobility and fall risk in older adults | 1 | — |
| ASA Physical Status | Pre-operative health status | 1 | — |
| BDI-II | Severity of depression | — | ≈ 5 minutes |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
GDS-15 (Geriatric Depression Scale — 15-item) is a validated instrument that assesses depression screening in older adults. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. The 15 items are summed to produce a total score.
GDS-15 contains 15 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 0 to 15, grouped into 4 interpretation bands from ‘Normal’ up to ‘Severe depression’.
On the GDS-15 (total score 0–15), scores of 12–15 fall in the ‘Severe depression’ band — interpreted as: Severe depression — urgent clinical assessment. The full ladder is: 0–4 — Normal: No depression suggested.; 5–8 — Mild depression: Mild depression — discuss with clinician.; 9–11 — Moderate depression: Moderate depression — clinical assessment indicated.; 12–15 — Severe depression: Severe depression — urgent clinical assessment. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 0–4 fall in the ‘Normal’ band: No depression suggested. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
Yes — GDS-15 is in the public domain and free for clinical, educational, and research use without permission. You can use this calculator and the scale itself freely; if you publish results or reproduce the scale, cite the original source paper.
Sheikh JI, Yesavage JA. Clin Gerontol. 1986;5(1-2):165-173. This is the original publication for the GDS-15 — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. GDS-15 is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of depression screening in older adults — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
GDS-15 is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: