Quality of life among patients with depression

Abstract

© 2015 University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. Depression is a disease of great social and medical importance. Quality of life can correlate with severity of manifested depression. The aim of our study was to determine whether people with unipolar depression have a poorer quality of life than healthy individuals, in what areas they have poorer quality of life and how socio-demographic characteristics and diff erent therapies impact quality of life. The survey was conducted among 110 subjects, of which 55 were patients diagnosed with depression using ICD-10 criteria at the Psychiatric Clinic in Kragujevac and 55 were healthy subjects. Quality of life was evaluated by The Quality of Life Questionnaire compiled by the WHO. Quality of life was compared between the two groups and within research groups, depending on the applied therapy. There were statistically signifi cant diff erences in quality of life between the groups: physical health - 49.64 versus 70.84, p=0.000; psychological health - 38.69 versus 69.85, p=0.000; social relations - 53.73 versus 64.89, p=0.004; living conditions - 54.58 versus 66.7, p=0.000, and in overall quality of life - 75.41 versus 96.00, p=0.000. The results showed that there was no statistically signifi cant diff erence in quality of life between applied therapies. The overall quality of life of depressed patients did not depend on marital status or gender of the respondents. Depressed patients generally have a low quality of life in all domains and in overall quality of life. To improve of mental health, oOne of the primary goals to improve mental health should be to improve quality of life among depressed patients.