Correlations of quality of life with adverse effects of medication, social support, course of illness, psychopathology, and demographic characteristics in patients with panic disorder

Abstract

Care of patients with panic disorder has raised quality-of-life (QOL) issues. The purpose of this study was to identify the level of QOL in patients with panic disorder and to examine the relationships between QOL and adverse effects of medication, social support, course of illness, psychopathology, and demographic characteristics. We recruited 57 patients with panic disorder from outpatient psychiatric clinics. We measured their QOL levels with the Short Form of the World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life-Taiwan Version (the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version) and examined the correlates of QOL. The analysis revealed that multiple factors were associated with poor QOL in patients with panic disorder, including severe adverse effects of medication for panic disorder, perceived low social support, severe current panic symptoms, total Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) score>/=17, young age, being unmarried, and early onset of panic disorder. The QOL of patients with panic disorder was correlated to multiple factors that were specific to individual subjects and influenced by interactions with treatment and the social environment. The results provide screening factors so that clinicians can intervene to improve QOL for their patients with panic disorder.

Association between quality of life and self-stigma, insight, and adverse effects of medication in patients with depressive disorders

“…As seen in the treatment of schizophrenia [21][22][23] and panic disorders, [24] antidepressants might be a two-edged sword in the QOL of patients with depressive disorders. In line with the results of other studies, [8,44] we found that subjects who were in obvious depression had poorer QOL in all four domains than those in remission.…”

“…The questionnaire on adverse effects of medication for depression is adapted from the questionnaire on adverse effects of medication for panic disorder, which has been found to have good reliability and validity. [24] It contains 16 items to evaluate the patients' perceived adverse effects induced by antidepressants used for treating depressive disorders in the preceding 2 weeks. The Cronbach's a of the questionnaire on adverse effects of medication for depression in this study was 0.845.…”

“…[21][22][23] and in patients with panic disorders. [24] A variety of antidepressants can improve depressive symptoms. However, antidepressants have different adverse effects on several organs and systems.…”

Health-seeking behavior, alternative medicine, and quality of life in Taiwanese panic disorder patients

“…Following recommendations in the relevant medical literature related to QOL studies [14,35,36], we sought to recruit at least 40-60 subjects using purposeful sampling. This study represents initial research on PD in Taiwanese patients from a single institution and possible relationships between patients' health-seeking behaviors and QOL.…”

“…PD and subthreshold PD have high comorbidity with other mental disorders [lj6-9]5 and increase long-term risk of cardiovascular and other clinical disorders [10,11].The high rate of comorbidity increases the impact of PD on patients' quality of life (QOL). Costs to individuals and society include increased utilization of healthcare resources, workplace absenteeism, unhealthy attitudes and negative coping strategies, and social withdrawal [2,8,[12][13][14][15]. PD patients' perception of their lowered QOL is as significant as impaired social and occupational functioning [16].…”