Abstract
BackgroundThe complexity of schizophrenia lies in the combination of psychiatric, somatic and social needs requiring care. The aim of the study was to compare perceived needs between groups with absence/presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to analyze the relationship between needs, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and MetS in people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.MethodsA “real-world” cross-sectional study was set up with a comprehensive framework including the following, needs for care (Camberwell Assessment of Need Interview [CAN]), HRQoL (Euro Qol-5D Questionnaire), sociodemographic data, lifestyle habits, psychopathology (Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS]), global functioning (Global Assessment of Functioning Scale [GAF]), anthropometric measurements and blood test results were assessed for an outpatient sample (n = 60).ResultsThe mean number of needs (given by CAN) was identified for both groups. Patients with MetS rated a higher number of needs compared to the group without this condition. Mobility problems (given by EQ-5D) were negatively associated with the number of total and unmet needs. For participants with MetS, HRQoL was related to the number of needs and unmet needs. For people with MetS, positive symptomatology score (given by PANSS) was related to the number of needs and met needs and general symptomatology was associated with total, met and unmet needs. For individuals without MetS, the global functioning score (given by GAF) was significantly inversely related with total, met and unmet needs.ConclusionsNeeds and HRQoL, as well as general symptomatology, were related only in patients with MetS. This has implications for treatment planning at the individual and organizational levels. An analysis of both physical and mental needs could provide a starting point for the extension of facilities in the health care system in order to reach the goal of improving quality of life.
Highlights
The complexity of schizophrenia lies in the combination of psychiatric, somatic and social needs requiring care
We found that metabolic syndrome (MetS) was associated with a history of cardiovascular disease (p = 0.00), diabetes (p = 0.00) and dyslipidemia (p = 0.02)
There were no significant differences between absence/presence of MetS in the percentages of needs, we found some high values in some domains
Summary
The complexity of schizophrenia lies in the combination of psychiatric, somatic and social needs requiring care. Factors associated with a higher number of needs were low socioeconomic class, older age, poorer global functioning and the presence of psychotic disorder. Schizophrenia produces a range of disabilities in everyday life and unmet needs are associated with poor QoL [6, 13,14,15,16]. QoL, a multidimensional construct that includes subjective well-being and objective mental and physical function indicators, has been recognized as an important outcome of schizophrenia treatment [17, 18]. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is restricted to patients’ self-perception of symptomatology, disability and functional status related to physical and/ or mental health [19]
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