Comparative elements of the quality of life in psychotic vs. neurotic patients

Background

The investigation of differences in the quality of life among patients with psychotic or neurotic disorders/illnesses.

Material and Methods

We investigated two groups of patients (43 psychotics, 45 neurotics). The 39 of them were women and the 27 men. Their mean age was 41.04 years, the mean age at which the disorder/ illness was first manifested 30.28 years and the mean of hospitalizations was 3.26. The above patients were evaluated with the scales WHOQOL and MMSE. The diagnosis of disorders/illnesses was made according to the ICD-10. Patients with a) neurodegenerative diseases, b) severe cognitive dysfunction and c) dependence from alcohol or other prohibited substances, were excluded from the study.

Results

According to the analysis it was found that: 1) there is an important difference between the two groups in the second domain (psychological) of WHOQOL scale [F (1) = 6.299, p < 0.05], 2) there were no important differences between the two groups for the other three domains of WHOQOL scale 3) there is an important difference between the two groups for the first independent question (z = -2.24, p < 0.05) of the WHOQOL scale, but not for the second.

Discussion

The quality of life that results from the psychological state of an individual, as measured by the WHOQOL scale, differs between neurotic and psychotic patients. The patient's subjective evaluation of his/her quality of life also differs in the same groups.