Prevalence of Depression in Schizophrenic Remission Patients and its Impact on their QoL: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a major mental illness and a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. Around one-fifth of patients with Schizophrenia have signific ant depression during the phase of clinical remission. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of depression in patients with Schizophrenia, the Quality of Life (QoL) of patients with depression in Schizophrenia, and to study the relationship between the two. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. One hundred patients aged 18 to 59 years diagnosed with Schizophrenia as per International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), operationally in remission for a minimum of one month, were included. The Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Brief version (WHOQoL-BREF) scale were used to measure the presence of depression and QoL in patients with Schizophrenia. Data were analysed with t-test, Chi-square tests, and Pearson correlation using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 31.6±5.1 years. Of the total study population, 72% were male, 31% had a high school level education, 20% were unemployed, 64% were married, 46% were from a semi-urban background, and 45% belonged to a lower-middle socio-economic background. Twenty-two percent of patients with Schizophrenia in remission were found to have depression. A longer duration of untreated psychosis (mean=9.14±2.83 years) was significantly associated with the development of depression in patients with Schizophrenia. Patients with Schizophrenia and depression had significantly poorer QoL in all domains (physical, psychological, social, environmental; p<0.001). Conclusion: This study helps us understand the importance of monitoring for depression in at-risk patients with Schizophrenia in remission. Doing so can pave the way for early intervention, thus improving their overall QoL.