A Comparative Study of Quality-of-Life Measurements in the Patients of Unipolar Depressive Disorder, Before and After Treatment

Quality of life (QOL) is a broad multi-dimensional concept that usually includes subjective evaluations of both positive and negative aspects of life. This study was done to understand the QOL of patients with Unipolar Depressive Disorder, before and after treatment when compared to that of the normal population.55 patients with Unipolar Depressive Disorder (UDD Group) and 54 Controls were studied using WHOQOL-BREF scale. It was administered once at the time of recruitment in the study and again after treatment for 3 months and once to the Controls. The comparisons of QOL were made before and after treatment, in terms of degree of improvement in QOL after 3 months of treatment, to discern how close to the normal bench mark they bounce back, with treatment. The Mean scores of the Overall-QOL on the WHOQOL-BREF scale, were severely lowered in the patients in UDD Group, before starting the treatment. After treatment for 3 months the QOL scores of the UDD group raised close to the QOL levels of the normal Controls. This indicates that the early recognition and prompt treatment of Depression is important in improving the Quality of Life of the patients.