Psychometric assessment of daily life properties in relation to severity of depression at outpatient clinic in Bahrain defense force hospital

Abstract EN

Background and objectives: According to the WHO Global Burden of Disease, the lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is about 15%.

Most of the MDD patients ranging between 18–45 years cause economic and social burden on the families and the country as a whole.

The objective was to assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with depression and to evaluate whether the impairment of QoL is specific for MDD or it is a general phenomenon.

Methods: The case–control cross-sectional study, including 30 patients aged between 18 and 45 years fulfilling the criteria of MDD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–4th ed., were recruited from the outpatient psychiatric clinics at the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) Hospital.

The case group was compared with age- and sex-matched control group, including 20 healthy volunteers selected among employees of the BDF Hospital.

All patients underwent (a) general medical and neurological examinations, (b) a Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–4th ed., Axis-I (SCID-I), (c) 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), and (d) Short-Form 36 Health Survey Arabic Version 1.0 (SF-36).

The control group was subjected to a physical examination, SCID-I (nonpatient version).

Statistical analysis of the data was conducted.

Results: The educational level (P < 0.001) and the types of employment (P = 0.002) were statistically significant when compared between cases and controls.

In the case group, quality of life as greatly affected by the severity of MDD with marked impairment in the social function and the overall mental function (P < 0.001).

A significant decrease was observed in the physical function (P < 0.001) and vitality (P = 0.010) of the cases when compared to their healthy counterparts.

A high statistical difference (P < 0.001) between the cases and controls was observed with respect to the eight domains of the QoL scale.

Conclusion: Depression has a markedly significant impact on the QoL of MDD patients.

There is a marked reduction in functioning of patients who suffer from depression in comparison to the nondepressed population.