Domains and Determinants of Quality of Life in Schizophrenia and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQOL-Bref) scale was designed to measure quality of life (QOL) in both medical and psychiatric illnesses. There have been a few studies to date that compare aspects of QOL in medical and psychiatric illnesses. AIM: The aim of the study was to compare QOL in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic medical illness and schizophrenia, a chronic psychiatric disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a prospective design, 50 patients with SLE and 50 patients with schizophrenia were assessed on measures of QOL by using the WHOQOL-Bref scale, demographic factors, disease severity, and psychiatric comorbidity. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the SLE group and the schizophrenia group on the social domain of the WHOQOL-Bref scale but not on other domains. Patients with SLE had lower scores, except on social domain. Disease severity correlated with scores on the physical domain and environmental domain in both illnesses. The presence of psychiatric comorbidity was associated with significantly lower QOL scores in SLE. The presence of insight was associated with nonsignificantly lower QOL scores in schizophrenia. There was a significant association between QOL scores and both income and religious belief system in SLE, while age and duration of illness correlated with QOL scores in schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Although the QOLs in schizophrenia and SLE were comparable on all domains except the social domain, the factors that mediate QOL in both these illnesses are different.