PREVALENCE OF RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS AND RELATIONSHIP WITH QUALITY OF LIFE IN REMITTED PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER.

Abstract

Background: Remission in major depressive disorder usually indicates that patient is free from disorder while as same at time it has been seen that definition for remission require patient to have HAM D less than 7. So those patients who score between 1-7 still have few symptoms even if they have been labeled as remitters. These symptoms are called residual symptoms and these can have direct consequences on quality of life. Material & Method: Remitted patients of Major Depressive Disorder as per ICD-10 Criteria attending outpatient department of psychiatry were enrolled for study, socio demographic data was collected and patients were administered HAM-D scale to find out residual symptoms,also WHOQOL-BREF was administered for assessment of Quality of life in these patients. Results: 80 patients were enrolled.Mean age was {43 ±1.32} with majority of female gender and higher education and marital status.(90.2%) were found to have between 2 to 7 symptoms on HAM-D.The most common symptom domains was insomnia symptom (74.1%; 95% confidence interval 0.68–0.80). On assessment of quality of life it was seen that 46% patients reported impairment in quality of life and predominant impairment was seen in physical component (28.95 ± 10.04). On comparison of Quality of life with predominant residual symptoms significant relationship was seen with insomnia and anxiety symptoms (B = -1.125, p= 0.004 & B =-2.629, P =0.008). Conclusion: There is presence of residual symptoms even in patients who have remitted from major depressive disorder and these residual symptoms have significant impact on quality of life of these patients. Identification and attending these residual symptoms should be part of treatment program in order to achieve a better quality of life