Quality of Life in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Its Relationship with Cognitive Functions and Clinical Findings
Quality of Life in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Its Relationship with Cognitive Functions and Clinical Findings
Dr. Berna Binnur KIVIRCIK AKDEDE1, Dr. Köksal ALPTEKİN2, Dr. Yıldız AKVARDAR3, Dr. Arzu KİTİŞ4
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Balçova, 35340, Izmir, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with healthy individuals and to investigate its relationship with cognitive functions and the severity of clinical symptoms.
Method: Twenty-three patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria and 22 healthy individuals were included in the study. Quality of life (Turkish Quality of Life Scale Short Form) and cognitive functions were assessed in all participants. In the patient group, the relationship between quality of life, cognitive functions, and severity of clinical symptoms was examined. In the healthy group, the relationship between quality of life and cognitive functions was investigated.
Results: A significant difference was found between the patient and control groups in terms of quality of life (F= 2.60, p= 0.04). This difference was mainly due to significant differences in psychological and social subscales. In the patient group, significant correlations were found between quality of life subscale scores and cognitive test scores (Trail Making Test, Auditory Consonant Trigram Test, and Digit Span Test). Additionally, a significant correlation was found between quality of life scores and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. No significant correlation was found between quality of life and cognitive tests in the control group.
Discussion: This study demonstrated that quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder is lower than in healthy individuals and is associated with cognitive functions and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Keywords: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, quality of life, symptoms
SUMMARY: Quality of Life in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Relations with Cognitive Functions and Clinical Symptoms
Objective: To compare quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with that in healthy subjects and to relate quality of life to cognitive functions and the severity of clinical symptoms.
Methods: Twenty-three patients who met DSM-IV criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder and 22 healthy subjects were included in the study. Quality of life (Turkish Quality of Life Scale-Brief Form) and cognitive functions were investigated in all subjects. In the patient group, the relation of quality of life to cognitive functions and the severity of clinical symptoms, and in the control group, the relation of quality of life to cognitive functions was investigated.
Results: The comparison of quality of life between the patient and control groups showed a significant difference (F= 2.60, p= 0.04). The significant differences between the two groups in psychological and social scores were responsible for the overall difference. The scores of quality of life were correlated with the scores of cognitive tests (Trail Making Test, Auditory Consonant Trigram Test, and Digit Span Test) and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Conclusion: The present study revealed that quality of life is lower in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder than in healthy subjects and is related to cognitive functions and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Keywords: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, quality of life, symptoms
1Asst. Prof., 2Prof., 3Assoc. Prof., 4Res. Asst., Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Izmir.
1. Introduction
Mental disorders are known to negatively affect social, occupational, physical, and psychological aspects of life. Therefore, quality of life has gained increasing importance in the evaluation of mental disorders. Indeed, DSM-IV emphasizes the role of impaired quality of life in the development of mental disorders and its importance in treatment effectiveness (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).
The concept of quality of life can be defined in various ways. Unlike quantitative evaluation of life, quality of life reflects an individual’s subjective satisfaction with life, general well-being, and functionality (Angermeyer and Kilian, 1997; Mendlowicz and Stein, 2000).
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic condition that leads to disability by negatively affecting individuals’ academic, occupational, social, and family functioning (Hollander et al., 1996). Limited studies conducted in this field report impaired quality of life in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (Schneider, 1997; Koran et al., 1996). However, information regarding the relationship between quality of life and clinical features of the disorder is limited.
Cognitive impairments demonstrated in various studies suggest that obsessive-compulsive disorder may be associated with dysfunction in brain systems, particularly frontostriatal circuits (Purcell et al., 1998; Savage et al., 1999). In this respect, cognitive deficits are considered an important feature of the disorder. Impairments have been observed in executive functions, nonverbal memory, and visuospatial abilities (Christensen et al., 1992; Lucey et al., 1997; Purcell et al., 1998; Schmidtke et al., 1998). However, no study has specifically investigated the relationship between these cognitive impairments and quality of life.
This study aimed to compare quality of life in a group of patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder with healthy individuals and to investigate its relationship with cognitive functions and the severity of clinical symptoms.