• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

information for practice

news, new scholarship & more from around the world


advanced search
  • gary.holden@nyu.edu
  • @ Info4Practice
  • Archive
  • About
  • Help
  • Browse Key Journals
  • RSS Feeds

Anxiety and depression, chronic physical conditions, and quality of life in an urban population sample study

Abstract

Objective  

No previous studies have empirically demonstrated a multiplicative interactive effect of anxiety disorders and/or depression
(ADD) and chronic medical conditions on quality of life (QOL). We hypothesized that QOL impairment was worsened by the presence
of ADD and medical co-morbidity, more than when it was with either medical co-morbidity alone or ADD alone.

Methods  

Complete data of 2,801 participants from the National Mental Health Survey of Adults in Singapore were analyzed, using SCAN
diagnoses of anxiety disorders and depression, self-reports of chronic medical conditions, and SF-12 measures of QOL (Mental
Component Summary, MCS, and Physical Component Summary, PCS).

Results  

Persons diagnosed with ADD (compared to those without) had considerably more medical co-morbidities (59 vs. 33%, p < 0.001). In multiple regression analyses, ADD (vs. no ADD) was associated with lower PCS (b = −1.013, p = 0.045) and MCS scores (b = −9.912, p < 0.001), as was number of medical co-morbidities (0, 1–2, 3 +), PCS scores (b = −2.058, p < 0.001) and MCS scores (b = −1.138, p < 0.001). There were significant interactive effects of medical co-morbidities and ADD on PCS (p < 0.001), and MCS (p = 0.086), suggesting that the negative effects of medical conditions on quality of life was aggravated non-additively by
the co-morbid presence of ADD, and vice versa.

Conclusion  

The individual effects of medical and psychiatric morbidity on functional status and quality of life were considerably worse
when both were present in the same individual. Future studies should examine the impact of identifying and treating anxiety
and depressive disorders in patients with medical problems for better outcomes.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Category Original Paper
  • Pages 1-7
  • DOI 10.1007/s00127-011-0420-6
  • Authors
    • Leslie Lim, Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore, 169608 Singapore
    • Ai-Zhen Jin, National Registry of Diseases Office, Health Promotion Board, 3 Second Hospital Avenue, Singapore, 168937 Singapore
    • Tze-Pin Ng, Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, NUHS Tower Block, Level9 1E, Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228 Singapore
    • Journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
    • Online ISSN 1433-9285
    • Print ISSN 0933-7954
Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 08/28/2011 | Link to this post on IFP |
Share

Primary Sidebar

Categories

Category RSS Feeds

  • Calls & Consultations
  • Clinical Trials
  • Funding
  • Grey Literature
  • Guidelines Plus
  • History
  • Infographics
  • Journal Article Abstracts
  • Meta-analyses - Systematic Reviews
  • Monographs & Edited Collections
  • News
  • Open Access Journal Articles
  • Podcasts
  • Video

© 1993-2023 Dr. Gary Holden. All rights reserved.

gary.holden@nyu.edu
@Info4Practice