Mood disorders and quality of life. A community study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between different quality of life sub-indexes and various mood disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first study of the relationship between quality of life and clinical conditions within the whole realm of mood disorders, past and present. METHODS: More than 2000 persons between 18 and 65 years old from the community were studied. DSM-III-R diagnoses were assessed by the structured interview Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Quality of life included seven aspects: Subjective well-being, Self-realization; Contact with friends, Support if ill, Absence of negative life events, Contact with family of origin; Neighbourhood quality, and a composite score; Global quality of life. RESULTS: Reduced quality of life was observed among persons with all kinds of mood disorders the previous year. That was also the case for previous mood disorders, especially bipolar and dysthymic disorder. Those with present psychotic major depression and past bipolar disorder had the most reduced quality of life. Among the sub-indexes, subjective well-being was most affected by mood disorders, followed by negative life events and lack of social support. The relationships did not disappear when controlled for socio-demographic factors and somatic health. LIMITATIONS: We do not know whether our results can be fully generalized to severe patient populations. CONCLUSION: Mood disorders, current as well as in remission, are related to a number of aspects of reduced quality of life.

Socio-demographic conditions, subjective somatic health, Axis I disorders and personality disorders in the common population: the relationship to quality of life.

Quality of life (QOL) was studied in a population of 2,065 subjects in Norway. A broad concept of QOL was applied, including subjective well-being, self-realization, negative life events, and a number of interpersonal relationships. The assessment of QOL, based on interview, was related to a number of socio-demographic variables, subjectively experienced somatic health, the most common Axis I disorders, and all Axis II personality disorders (PDs). The results of multivariate analyses showed that being female and living with a partner in the outskirts of a city and having good physical health are important positive correlates of QOL. Controlling for all these variables, major depression, dysthymic disorder, and somatoform disorders were the Axis I disorders that have a negative statistical effect on global QOL. Specific anxiety disorders did not add to the effects. Among the PDs, avoidant, schizotypal, paranoid, and schizoid PD traits were the most important statistical negative determinants of QOL, followed by borderline, dependent, antisocial, and also self-defeating and narcissistic PDs, restricted to some specific sub-indexes of QOL. The study also showed that our results vary and are sometimes the opposite, depending on the sub-index of QOL examined. The study showed that it is necessary to apply a broad concept of QOL to disclose the real nature or the relationship between mental disorders and QOL. Furthermore, demographic variables, subjectively experienced somatic health, Axis I disorders, and PD traits appeared to be independently associated with QOL.

Mental illness in a rural area: a Norwegian psychiatric epidemiological study.

OBJECTIVES: Few epidemiological studies have compared less well-integrated urban areas with well-integrated rural areas with the same methods. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of mental disorder in a socially stable demographic western region of Norway and make comparison with previously observed prevalence figures of mental illness in Oslo, the capital of Norway. METHOD: A random sample of the 107,738 residents of Sogn and Fjordane, a western rural region of Norway, age 18-65 years, was drawn from the Norwegian Population Register. A total of 1,080 subjects, 63% of the original sample, were interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 39.2 years. The 12-month prevalence of mental illness was 16.5% and the lifetime prevalence was 30.9%. Simple phobia and social phobia had the highest 12-month prevalence whereas alcohol abuse and major depression had the highest lifetime prevalence. All mental disorders were more prevalent in women than in men, with the exception of alcohol and drug abuse. Severe psychopathology was found in 2.2% (12 month prevalence) and 5.1% (lifetime prevalence). These observations show that the 12-month and the lifetime prevalence of mental illness in this western area is approximately half the rate of figures observed for Oslo. CONCLUSION: Epidemiological figures for a western rural region of Norway showing 12-month and the lifetime prevalence of mental disorder are considerably lower than figures obtained in studies from the capital of Norway. However, the same basic pattern of mental illness can be observed in the rural as in the urban area of Oslo, with alcohol abuse/dependence and major depression being the most common disorders at both sites. The sex pattern is also the same with higher figures for women both in rural and urban areas with the exception of alcohol and drug abuse being higher in men.

Personality disorders and quality of life. A population study.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between specific personality disorders (PDs) and specific aspects of quality of life in the common population. The sample consisted of 2053 individuals between 18 and 65 years old. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition (DSM-III-R), axis I was studied by means of a structured interview (Composite International Diagnostic Interview) and axis II by means of a Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders; sociodemographic variables were taken into account, and broad aspects of quality of life were included. Personality disorders appeared to be more important statistical predictors of quality of life than sociodemographic variables, somatic health, and axis I disorder. Those with avoidant, schizotypal, paranoid, schizoid, and borderline PDs had the strongest and broadest reduction in quality of life, whereas those with histrionic, obsessive-compulsive, passive-aggressive, and sadistic PDs did not show any reduction. A number of specific relationships occurred. Furthermore, the more PDs that existed and the more personality criteria fulfilled, the poorer the quality of life, pointing to the importance of comorbidity and continuity.

Quality of life and anxiety disorders: a population study.

The study of quality of life has increased in importance in the area of mental disorders during the last decade. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of specific anxiety disorders on specific quality of life indicators in the common population. More than 2000 individuals between 18 and 65 years old were studied by means of structured interviews. The results showed that social phobia and panic disorder within the past year and lifetime, and generalized anxiety disorder within the past year, had an independent effect on quality of life when controlling for a number of sociodemographic variables, somatic health, and other DSM-III-R Axis I mental disorders. Specific phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder had only a small effect, and agoraphobia showed no effect. The effect was strongest for self-realization and contact with friends, but anxiety disorders also influenced subjective well-being, social support, negative life events, contact with family of origin, and neighborhood quality.