Evaluation of quality of life in patients with schizophrenia: An inpatient social welfare institution-based cross-sectional study.

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness with a poor quality of life (QoL). The main aim of this study was to measure the QoL and factors that affect the QoL of patients with schizophrenia placed in a social welfare institution. This cross-sectional study included 287 patients with schizophrenia who were treated in a long-stay social care institution in which QoL was assessed using five different instruments: the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale, the EuroQoL Five-Dimension-Five-Level scale (including the visual analog scale), the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire - Short Form, and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. To determine the impact of patients' characteristics on score values, multiple linear regression using backward elimination was employed. Due to non-normality in the distribution of the dependent variables, a Box-Cox power transformation was applied to each dependent variable prior to conducting multiple linear regression analysis. Results revealed that patients with schizophrenia have lower QoL. Our study revealed that age, level of education, type of accommodation, type of pavilion, age of onset of the disease, number of prescribed antipsychotics, number of psychiatric comorbidities, duration of therapy, and the number of daily doses of antipsychotics are dominant contributors to the QoL in patients with schizophrenia who were treated in social welfare institution.

Psychophysical and Social Functioning of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease and Depression.

The relationship between depression and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not fully understood. The comorbidity rate ranges from 18 to 84%, and depression is closely related to chronic inflammation, which affects how patients and the people around them perceive their condition. This study aims to examine the relationship between the psychophysical and social functioning of COPD patients who have been diagnosed with depression and the therapeutic benefits of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This prospective study enrolled primary care patients diagnosed with COPD and depression. The entire period of this research was 3 years. The research was conducted at the Primary Health Center, Kragujevac, Serbia, in 87 patients for 8 weeks. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and Questionnaire for Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) were used for psychiatric assessment. A positive correlation was found between the psychophysical and social functioning of the participants after 8 weeks of treatment with SSRIs. Based on the value of the phi correlation coefficient (phi = 0.5) obtained using the χ2 test, a large influence was observed in terms of life satisfaction and physical health (p < 0.05). In terms of physical functioning by gender, based on the value of the Pearson's coefficient (r) obtained with the χ2 test, it was shown that physical functioning was superior in the female respondents (p < 0.05). Treatment was found to improve depression in COPD after 8 weeks of therapy.