Reliability and validity of Azeri Turkish version of geriatric depression scale

Background: In older adults, depression symptoms may be masked by physical complaints and be even attributed to the natural aging process, which may be resulted in improper diagnosis. Native-language scales can be highly effective in the detection of depressive disorders. In this study we attempted to assess the reliability and validity of the Azeri Turkish version of the geriatric depression scale (GDS). Methods: In this psychometric study, the GDS and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV (SCID) questionnaires were administered to a sample of 387 older adults (60 years and older) from the member households of Tabriz health centers. The English version of GDS was translated into Azeri Turkish. Translation-back translation process was conducted. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve as well as sensitivity and specificity were used to determine the validity of the questionnaire, and the test-retest method was used to calculate reliability. Results: The mean age of participants was 69.30. The area under the ROC curve for the scores higher than five was 0.832 and for the scores equal to ten and above was 0.871. The sensitivity and specificity for the scores higher than five were 90.9% and 73.4%, respectively. The reliability of this scale was confirmed based on intraclass coefficient (ICC) = 0.79. Conclusion: The Azeri Turkish version of GDS was found with appropriate levels of validity and reliability.