Quality of life in patients with depressive disorders

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the features of quality of life in patients with depressive disorders, taking into account age and gender. Clinically examined 107 men and 138 women with depressive disorders (ICD-10 codes F31.3, F31.4, F32.0, F32.1, F32.2, F33.0, F33.1, F33.2) using Multicultural Quality of Life Index. Depressive disorders are accompanied by a significant deterioration in the quality of life of patients, principally in psychological (emo-tional) well-being. In general, quality of life indicators decrease as patients age; women showed lower self-reported quality of life in most areas, these differences were statistically significant in the younger and middle age groups. The assessments of the quality of life of patients by the specialist turned out to be significantly (p<0.001) higher than the self-assessments of patients for all areas of the quality of life, especially in women. The closest self-esteem and quality of life assessment by a specialist were for psychological (emotional) well-being, and the largest differences were found for interpersonal functioning, social-emotional support, community and services support, personal fulfillment, spiritual fulfillment, and overall quality of life. While subjectively patients note the greatest decrease in the quality of life between the ages of 30 and 44, while according to a specialist's assessment, the quality of life decreases most significantly at the age of over 45, especially in women.