Abstract
BackgroundAlthough the studies published so far have found an affectation in the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in both psychiatric and substance use dependence disorders, very few studies have applied HRQOL as an assessment measure in patients suffering both comorbid conditions, or Dual Diagnosis. The aim of the current study was to assess HRQOL in a group of patients with Dual Diagnosis compared to two other non-comorbid groups and to determine what clinical factors are related to HRQOL.MethodsCross-sectional assessment of three experimental groups was made through the Short Form – 36 Item Health Survey (SF-36). The sample consisted of a group with Dual Diagnosis (DD; N = 35), one with Severe Mental Illness alone (SMI; N = 35) and another one with Substance Use Dependence alone (SUD; N = 35). The sample was composed only by males. To assess the clinical correlates of SF-36 HRQOL, lineal regression analyses were carried out.ResultsThe DD group showed lower scores in most of the subscales, and in the mental health domain. The group with SUD showed in general a better state in the HRQOL while the group with SMI held an intermediate position with respect to the other two groups. Daily medication, suicidal attempts and daily number of coffees were significantly associated to HRQOL, especially in the DD group.ConclusionsThe DD group showed lower self-reported mental health quality of life. Assessment of HRQOL in dual patients allows to identify specific needs in this population, and may help to establish therapeutic goals to improve interventions.
Highlights
The studies published so far have found an affectation in the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in both psychiatric and substance use dependence disorders, very few studies have applied HRQOL as an assessment measure in patients suffering both comorbid conditions, or Dual Diagnosis
Bizarri et al [18] found a worse score in all the assessed domains of QOL in Dual Diagnosis (DD) patients with opium dependence compared to patients without a concomitant mental disorder, and the differences were more marked in the domains of mental and physical functioning
There were intergroup differences in marital status (χ2 = 9.891; p = 0.007), with a higher percentage of singles in the Severe Mental Illness (SMI) than in both DD and Substance Use Dependence (SUD) groups, and in the economic status (χ2 = 26.651; p < 0.0001), with a higher percentage of subjects receiving a disability pension in both DD and SMI groups compared to a higher percentage of active workers in SUD group (See Table 1)
Summary
The studies published so far have found an affectation in the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in both psychiatric and substance use dependence disorders, very few studies have applied HRQOL as an assessment measure in patients suffering both comorbid conditions, or Dual Diagnosis. Different studies have found an affectation both in the QOL and in the HRQOL in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder [3,4,5,6,7], as well as in substance dependence disorders [8,9,10] Assessment of both QOL and HRQOL in Dual Diagnosis (DD) patients may help to identify areas of specific and there are few studies on the QOL in DD, most of the data published up to now show a worse QOL in these patients. In the study by Fassino et al [19], the heroin dependent patients with comorbid personality disorder presented a worse QOL than those heroin dependent without the comorbidity
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