Review: screening instruments had sensitivities of 67-100% and specificities of 53-98% for detecting major depression in older primary care patients.

Study selection and assessment: English language studies of depression screening in primary care populations of adults .65 years of age; comparison of instrument with a criterion standard (structured or semistructured diagnostic interviews or independent evaluations by psychiatrists based on DSM-IIIR or DSM-IV, ICD-10, or Research Diagnostic Criteria); and provision of information on diagnostic accuracy (usually sensitivity and specificity). Exclusion criteria: studies done in psychiatric facilities or clinics or those that retrospectively extracted briefer instruments from original versions of an instrument.