Assessing Quality of Life: A Comparative Study among Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Affective Disorder, and Healthy Control in a South Indian Tertiary Care Setting

Aim: To assess and compare the quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) patients and healthy control.

Methods: This is an observational study carried out in MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital, Bengaluru, India. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was administered to 139 patients with schizophrenia and 139 patients with BPAD that were diagnosed according to the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria, as well as 139 healthy subjects all of whom gave their informed consent. The data were analyzed using SAS 9.2 software.

Results: On comparing the three groups, the schizophrenia group scored the least in the physical (53.51±19.36), psychological (51.32±21.37) and environmental health domains (55.59±17.78). The QOL of the BPAD group was comparable to that of the healthy control group and significantly better as compared to that of the schizophrenia group (P<0.0001).

Conclusion: The study shows that patients with schizophrenia had significantly lower QOL than patients with BPAD and healthy subjects. Our study emphasizes the significance of addressing psychiatric patients' overall health and QOL in addition to symptom management.