This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

41/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 41 out of 100. Digital health tools

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Background This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of an Arabic version of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Methods 121 community-dwelling older adults and primary care patients aged 60 and above participated in this study. Older adults with dementia, those with thyroid dysfunction, and hearing or speech impairments were excluded. Test-retest reliability was examined by re-administering the translated GDS-15 to a subset of 38 participants at least seven days after the initial interview. Results The Arabic GDS-15 had good psychometric properties, but the best properties were reported for the 7/8 cutoff. Cronbach's alpha as a measure of internal consistency reliability was high (0.88) and kappa ranged from 0.57 to 0.75. The performance of the GDS-15 was equally good for both community-dwelling older adults and those in primary care settings, and for both forms of the GDS (examiner administered vs. self-administered). Conclusion The Arabic GDS is a useful measure to assess depression among community-dwelling older adults and primary care patients who do not have dementia. Because of the use of formal Arabic, GDS-15 can be widely used with all Arabic-speaking people.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Chaaya, M., Sibai, A. M., Roueiheb, Z. E., Chemaitelly, H., Chahine, L. M., Al-Amin, H., et al. (2008). Validation of the Arabic version of the short Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). International psychogeriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610208006741

Vancouver

Chaaya M, Sibai AM, Roueiheb ZE, Chemaitelly H, Chahine LM, Al-Amin H, et al. Validation of the Arabic version of the short Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). International psychogeriatrics. 2008. doi:10.1017/s1041610208006741. PMID: 18289453.

BibTeX

@article{chaaya2008-18289453,
  author  = {Chaaya, M. and Sibai, A. M. and Roueiheb, Z. E. and Chemaitelly, H. and Chahine, L. M. and Al-Amin, H. and Mahfoud, Z.},
  title   = {{Validation of the Arabic version of the short Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15)}},
  journal = {International psychogeriatrics},
  year    = {2008},
  doi     = {10.1017/s1041610208006741},
  pmid    = {18289453},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610208006741}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

Results The Arabic GDS-15 had good psychometric properties, but the best properties were reported for the 7/8 cutoff.

Why it matters

This study validated an Arabic version of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale in older adults without dementia. It is a depression screening tool and has no direct implications for treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Digital health →

Study details

Participants38
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 41/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International psychogeriatrics)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	International Psychogeriatrics: journal h-index 161 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	38 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 105 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	5.2 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 4.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Ziyad Riyad Mahfoud: h-index 39 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	0 / 3	American University of Beirut: institution h-index 404 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18289453)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	41 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Related studies in Digital health tools

Also tagged “palliative”

858 studies in the library carry the topic tag “palliative”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 858 tagged studies.

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

Similar studies

More on Digital health tools

See all studies in Digital health tools →