Background: Older Chinese people are one of the largest and fastest growing immigrant groups in Western countries. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) are screening tools that have been specifically designed for older people. This study explored their validity, concurrent reliability, and cultural appropriateness for detecting depression and anxiety symptoms among older Chinese immigrants living in Melbourne, Australia.Methods: A total of 87 Chinese people were recruited from Chinese senior groups. Five screening tools were used, including the GDS, the GAI, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Kessler 10 (K10), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Data were collected through standardized interviews.Results: The GDS and the GAI were found to be reliable and valid tools for detecting depression and anxiety in this sample. Based on the results of the five screening tools, approximately 20% of participants exhibited clinically significant symptoms of depression and 8% of anxiety. Unexpectedly, there was a higher rate of depression and anxiety symptoms among Mandarin speaking people compared with Cantonese speaking people.Conclusion: This study adds to the evidence that older Chinese immigrants are at greater risk of depression than the general older population. It suggests that primary care and mental health services should be aware of and responsive to the increased risk of depression among this group and that further studies are needed to investigate what is contributing to this increased risk. © 2018 International Psychogeriatric Association.

cross-cultural Anxiety Depression Ageing

anxiety China depression immigrant Chinese anxiety disorder Australia Sampling Studies human epidemiology validation study aging Asian continental ancestry group statistics and numerical data Aged Victoria screening test Kessler 10 Mandarin (language) Cantonese (language) ethnology Geriatric Depression Scale Humans migrant psychology Cross-Cultural Comparison male Emigrants and Immigrants female Aged, 80 and over very elderly psychological rating scale reliability reproducibility Geriatric Assessment Reproducibility of Results Psychiatric Status Rating Scales cultural factor Patient Health Questionnaire 9 Article concurrent validity adult anxiety assessment depression assessment Geriatric Anxiety Inventory Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale