Quality of life and functional impairment among depressive patients in a psychiatric outpatient setting in India

Background: Major depression is an important public health problem associated with high levels of disability, impairment of quality of life and decreased work performance. Depressive disorder negatively impacts different aspects of an individual’s life leading to grave impairments in quality of life (QOL). This study analyses the interaction between depressive symptom severity, functional impairment and QOL in outpatients with depressive disorder. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 100 consecutive outpatients seeking treatment for depressive disorder at an urban hospital-based outpatient clinic from January to August 2010. This study utilises the following measures: (a) Depressive symptom severity: Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II); (b) Functional impairment: Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS); (c) QOL measure: World Health Organization QOL BREF instrument (WHO QOL BREF). Results: QOL is significantly impaired in severely depressed patients. Depression is negatively correlated with QOL and positively correlated with functional impairment. Conclusion: The results suggest the need to utilise not only symptom severity scales, but also functional impairment and QOL measures in the assessment and treatment of depressive patients.