Quality of life in patients with bipolar disorder--a comparison with schizophrenic patients and healthy controls

In the past, the first goal of bipolar disorder treatment was the reduction of symptoms of mania or depression, rather than the recovery of social functioning. Recently, as a result of an increased emphasis on patient needs, the concept of quality of life (QoL) has been brought into the treatment of physical illnesses.

The purpose of the present study was to examine QoL data in patients with bipolar disorder in clinical remission and to determine the extent of the effects of demographic and clinical data on QoL in these patients. The second aim was to compare the QoL data of these patients to that of patients with schizophrenia in clinical remission and to that of healthy controls. Data were obtained using a QoL questionnaire (Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, or Q-LES-Q) for 41 bipolar patients in clinical remission. The data were then compared with the data of 40 schizophrenic patients in clinical remission and with 40 healthy controls.

There were higher mean scores in most Q-LES-Q summary scales in the bipolar patients than in the schizophrenic patients. There were higher mean scores in the bipolar patients in some summary scales than in the healthy controls.

Our results suggest the same or higher subjective QoL in bipolar patients in clinical remission in comparison with healthy controls and higher subjective QoL in bipolar patients in clinical remission than in schizophrenic patients in clinical remission.