Assessment of quality of life and cognitive dysfunction among patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

Introduction Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is associated with high mortality, disability and morbidity. Studies demonstrated mixed results on effects of depression treatments on quality of life (QOL). Objectives To evaluate the severity of depression among Jordanian patients diagnosed with MDD before and after treatment and to find any relationship between QOL, depression severity and perceived cognitive dysfunction. Methods Patients from both genders, 18-65 years old and diagnosed with MDD were included to attend two visits; at baseline and 6 weeks after treatment, in each they completed three questionnaires: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression severity, patient-rated Perceived Deficit Questionnaire (PDQ-5) for cognitive function, and World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) format. Results A total of 92 patients completed the study. The scores of the different questionnaires and their correlations before and after treatment are presented in tables 1 and 2. Correlations between PHQ-9 and PDQ-5 before and after treatment are illustrated in figs 1 and 2, respectively. Table 1: Total scores for WHOQOL-BREF format, PDQ-5 and PHQ-9, before and after treatment Questionnaire Before After P-value General quality of life 2.5±1 3.5±0.7 <0.0001 General health satisfaction 2.3±1 3.4±0.9 <0.0001 Physical health (Domain 1) 10±2.6 13.9±2.6 <0.0001 Psychological (Domain 2) 8±2.3 12.6±2.3 <0.0001 Social relationships (Domain 3) 9±3.2 12.8±2.8 <0.0001 Environment (Domain 4) 12.3±3 14.4±7.5 0.0003 Patient-rated Perceived Deficit 5 (PDQ-5) 13±4.4 7.2±4 <0.0001 Patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) 19±5.4 7.1±5.1 <0.0001 Values are presented as mean±SD. Analysis: Paired t test. P<0.05 is significant. Table 2: Correlations between total scores for all of the domains for WHOQOL-BREF and PDQ-5, and between WHOQOL-BREF and PHQ-9, before and after treatment Domains/Facets Patient-rated Perceived Deficit 5 (PDQ-5) Patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) Before (r, p) After (r, p) Before (r, p) After (r, p) General quality of life -0.38, 0.0001 -0.26, 0.01 -0.55, <0.0001 -0.49, <0.0001 General health satisfaction -0.24, 0.02 -0.14, 0.2 -0.51, <0.0001 -0.48, <0.0001 Physical health (Domain 1) -0.37, 0.0003 -0.50, <0.0001 -0.57, <0.0001 -0.76, <0.0001 Psychological (Domain 2) -0.46, <0.0001 -0.43, <0.0001 -0.58, <0.0001 -0.68, <0.0001 Social relationships (Domain 3 -0.37, 0.0002 -0.37, 0.0002 -0.42, <0.0001 -0.40, <0.0001 Environment (Domain 4) -0.52, <0.0001 -0.21, 0.047 -0.36, 0.0004 -0.12, 0.2 Spearman correlation (r); P<0.05 is significant. WHOQOL: World Health Organization Quality of Life. Image: Image 2: Conclusions Significant improvements were found in the symptoms of depression, cognition and QOL in patients with MDD after treatment. Depression severity significantly inversely correlated with QOL and cognition of MDD patients. Disclosure of Interest None Declared