Urdu translation of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression: Results of a validation study.

Ali M Hashmi,Shahana Naz,Aftab Asif,Imran S Khawaja

doi:10.12669/pjms.326.11399

Abstract

Objective:To develop a standardized validated version of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) in Urdu.Methods:After translation of the HAM-D into the Urdu language following standard guidelines, the final Urdu version (HAM-D-U) was administered to 160 depressed outpatients. Inter-item correlation was assessed by calculating Cronbach alpha. Correlation between HAM-D-U scores at baseline and after a 2-week interval was evaluated for test-retest reliability. Moreover, scores of two clinicians on HAM-D-U were compared for inter-rater reliability. For establishing concurrent validity, scores of HAM-D-U and BDI-U were compared by using Spearman correlation coefficient. The study was conducted at Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from May to December 2014.Results:The Cronbach alpha for HAM-D-U was 0.71. Composite scores for HAM-D-U at baseline and after a 2-week interval were also highly correlated with each other (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.83, p-value < 0.01) indicating good test-retest reliability. Composite scores for HAM-D-U and BDI-U were positively correlated with each other (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.85, p < 0.01) indicating good concurrent validity. Scores of two clinicians for HAM-D-U were also positively correlated (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.82, p-value < 0.01) indicated good inter-rater reliability.Conclusion:The HAM-D-U is a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of Depression. It shows good inter-rater and test-retest reliability. The HAM-D-U can be a tool either for clinical management or research.

Highlights

Depression is a common, highly debilitating illness with a lifetime prevalence of up to 20%.1 The World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked depression the 4th leading cause of disabilityCorrespondence: September 1, 2016 October 27, 2016 November 7, 2016 November 8, 2016 worldwide.[2]
Two separate clinicians administered the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D)-U to check for inter-rater reliability
HAM-D-U Beck Depression InventoryUrdu (BDI-U) Correlation coefficient leading cause by the year 2020.12 In the Southeast Asian region including Pakistan, 11% of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and 27% of Years Lost to Disabilities are attributed to neuropsychiatric disease including depression

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked depression the 4th leading cause of disability. Correspondence: September 1, 2016 October 27, 2016 November 7, 2016 November 8, 2016 worldwide.[2] By 2020, depression is projected to be the second leading cause of worldwide disability.[3] In addition to being a significant cause of morbidity, depression can worsen the health outcomes of other chronic illnesses like angina, asthma, diabetes and arthritis.[4]. There are no commonly accepted biological i.e. laboratory tools to diagnose depression or to measure improvement with treatment. Rating scales to assess the intensity of depressive illness are available and can assist with measuring response to treatment but most of these tools have been developed and validated in English-speaking populations. Appropriate cross-cultural adaptation and validation is required in order to apply these tools to non-English speaking populations.[8,9]

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Conclusion