Subjective quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong and Beijing: relationship to socio-demographic and clinical factors

Abstract

Despite considerable differences between the two sites in terms of health care delivery and the economic conditions of the subjects, SQOL did not differ between HK and BJ. The conclusion is in line with previous studies that suggested that patients' SQOL was independent of their living standard as long as it reached a certain minimum level. SQOL was more strongly related to the severity of depressive symptoms and had weak association with socio-demographic factors.

Socio-demographic and clinical determinants of quality of life in Chinese patients with schizophrenia: a prospective study

“…The possible reason for this unexpected finding might be that schizophrenia can considerably lower the quality of marriage and thus increase the likelihood of marriage-related problems [12], which may contribute to the poor QOL. In this study, only marital status was correlated with QOL, lending support to previous findings that socio-demographic data had no or only weak significant association with QOL [5].…”

“…A clear understanding of the relationship between sociodemographic and clinical variables and QOL could facilitate the design of optimal and cost-effective clinical interventions. Several studies have been carried out recently exploring the correlates of QOL of Chinese schizophrenia patients [2][3][4][5][6], including positive, negative, depressive, and anxiety symptoms, the use of antipsychotic drugs, extrapyramidal side effects (EPS), and history of suicide attempts. However, these studies were all crosssectional, and change of QOL and the relationship between QOL and socio-demographic and clinical variables over time could not be explored.…”

Subjective quality of life and suicidal behavior among Taiwanese schizophrenia patients

“…The Taiwanese version of WHOQOL-BREF was designed to assess subjective QOL in general and is not specific to psychotic patients. It may not detect subtle changes in SQOL in the specific population of schizophrenia patients [57]. Therefore, more specific measures with sensitive gradations, such as the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale Revision 4 (SQLS-R4) [58], should be used in future studies.…”

Subjective health‐related quality of life of Chinese older persons with depression in Shanghai and Hong Kong: relationship to clinical factors, level of functioning and social support

“…Further, the majority of the abovementioned studies were conducted in Western countries where Judeo-Christian culture places high value on independence and selfrealisation. In East Asia, many countries and regions are strongly influenced by traditional Confucian teaching which emphasizes interdependence and group harmony (Xiang et al, 2008). Thus, the findings of studies conducted with Caucasian population may not be applicable to a non-Western culture.…”