Factors associated with low quality of life in schizophrenia

Abstract

Interest in quality of life in mental health care has been stimulated by the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients as well as a parallel interest in understanding the scope of their daily lives. This study aims to investigate the socio-demographic and clinical variables related to low quality of life, using a cross-sectional design to evaluate quality of life by means of the QLS-BR scale. We interviewed a sample of 123 outpatients from a reference mental health center in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out. The results showed that low quality of life is associated with one or more of the following: male gender, single marital status, low income plus low schooling, use of three or more prescribed psychoactive drugs, psychomotor agitation during the interview, and current follow-up care. The study identifies plausible indicators for the attention and care needed to improve psychiatric patient treatment.

Keywords

• Schizophrenia
• Quality of Life
• Mental Health