This is an epidemiological study on the comorbidity of depression in a random sample of 1062 elderly Chinese aged 65 and over in Singapore, using the Geriatric Mental State (GMS) schedule and the data analysed by the computerized diagnostic program AGECAT. The overall prevalence of current (30-day) depression was estimated to be 6.0% (males 5.9%, females 6.1 YO). There were comorbid psychiatric disorders, predominantly anxiety, in 45.3% of depressed elderly. Using DSM-111-R criteria, the prevalence of major depression was 5.2% and dysthymia 0.2%, with comorbid psychiatric disorders, mainly generalized anxiety disorder, in 40% of major depression. The risk factor profile of the elderly with pure and comorbid depression showed significant differences. A past history of depression and lower level of education were risk factors for comorbid depression-but there was no significant difference between the two groups in sex, age, marital status or living arrangement. KEY woms-survey; Singapore; Chinese; elderly; depression The term comorbidity has been used to mean any distinct additional clinical entity that has existed or may occur during the clinical course of a patient who has the index disorder under study (Feinstein, 1970). Comorbidity commences with symptom association and progresses to the syndromal level. Many studies have shown that patients with depression also have other psychiatric conditions, especially anxiety disorder (Fawcett and Kravitz, 1983;Katon and Roy-Byrne, 1991). A study in South Africa of 139 coloured persons aged 65 years and over, using the Present Stage Examination (Wing et a/., 1974), showed that about 26% of the depressed elderly had anxiety symptoms (Ben-Arie er d., 1987). In the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) of the United States (Blazer et al., 1994), 8098 persons in the non-institutionalized civilian population were assessed using a revised version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (World Health Organization, 1990). Comorbidity of major depression in the NCS showed significant