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Validation of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and sociodemographic factors associated with Lebanese
S Obeid1, C Abi Elias Hallit2, C Haddad2
1Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, 60096 Jal Eddib, Lebanon; Holy Spirit University, Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences, Kaslik, Lebanon; Lebanese University, Faculty of Pedagogy, Beirut, Lebanon.
Insights
The Arabic Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is a reliable tool for diagnosing depression in Lebanon. Factors like low socioeconomic status and family history increase scores, while higher education decreases them.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is a widely used clinical tool for assessing depression severity.
- There was a lack of validation for the HDRS in the Lebanese population.
- This study aimed to address this gap by evaluating the HDRS in Lebanese patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the Arabic version of the HDRS in Lebanese depressed patients.
- To assess the scale's correlation, sensitivity, specificity, reliability, and validity.
- To identify sociodemographic factors associated with depression in Lebanon.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted between January and May 2017.
- The study included 400 participants: 200 depressed patients and 200 controls.
- Psychometric properties of the HDRS were evaluated.
Main Results:
- The HDRS demonstrated good internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.862.
- Factor analysis revealed four underlying factors explaining 58.88% of the variance.
- Low socioeconomic status, divorced status, and family history of mental disorders were associated with higher HDRS scores, while university education was associated with lower scores.
Conclusions:
- The Arabic version of the HDRS exhibits promising psychometric properties for diagnosing depression in Lebanon.
- The scale is recommended as a valuable tool for depression assessment in clinical practice.
- Early recognition and treatment of depression in primary care settings are crucial for improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.
Objectives:
The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is the most commonly used scale for the evaluation of patients' treatments for depression. Since the HDRS has never been validated in Lebanon to our knowledge, our primary objective, therefore, is to investigate the correlation, sensitivity, specificity, as well as the reliability and the validity of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) among Lebanese depressed patients. The secondary objective is to identify sociodemographic factors that would be correlated to depression among our sample.
Methods:
This case-control study, performed between January till May 2017, included 400 patients (200 patients, 200 controls).
Results:
The HDRS scale items converged over a solution of four factors, explaining a total of 58.88% of the variance. A high Cronbach's alpha was found for the full scale (0.862). A stepwise linear regression, using the total HDRS score as continuous variable, showed that a low socioeconomic level, divorced participants and a family history of mental disorders would significantly increase the HDRS total score (Beta=4.278; Beta=5.405; and Beta=3.922) respectively. However, having a university level of education would significantly decrease the HDRS total score (Beta=-4.248, P<0.001).
Conclusion:
This study shows that the Arabic version of the HDRS has promising psychometric properties, making it a good tool to use for the diagnosis of patients with depression. Depression recognition and treatment in general practice with the aim of improving patient outcome and reducing health care expenditure, is definitely warranted.
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