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Subjective quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong and Beijing: relationship to socio-demographic and clinical factors

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Abstract

Purpose

This study compared the subjective quality of life (SQOL) in schizophrenia patients living with their families in Hong Kong (HK) and Beijing (BJ) and explored the relationship between SQOL and basic socio-demographic and clinical factors.

Materials and methods

Two hundred and sixty-four clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia were randomly selected in HK and 258 counterparts matched according to age, sex, age at onset, and length of illness in BJ. SQOL and psychiatric status were assessed with standard rating instruments.

Results

There was no significant difference in any of SQOL domains between the two cohorts after controlling for potentially confounding variables. Positive, depressive and anxiety symptoms and drug-induced extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) were all significantly correlated with SQOL. Multiple regression analysis revealed that only depressive symptoms predicted all SQOL domains in both groups. Having removed depressive symptoms from the model, positive symptoms predicted all domains, anxiety predicted all but social domains, use of benzodiazepines (BZD) predicted all but physical domains, EPS predicted physical domain, and history of suicide predicted social domain in HK; anxiety predicted all domains, positive symptoms predicted all but physical domains, EPS, use of BZD and history of suicide all predicted physical domains, and length of illness predicted environmental domain in BJ.

Conclusion

Despite considerable differences between the two sites in terms of health care delivery and the economic conditions of the subjects, SQOL did not differ between HK and BJ. The conclusion is in line with previous studies that suggested that patients’ SQOL was independent of their living standard as long as it reached a certain minimum level. SQOL was more strongly related to the severity of depressive symptoms and had weak association with socio-demographic factors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff of the Day Hospital at Shatin Hospital, the Li Ka Shing Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at Prince of Wales Hospital and the General Outpatient Department at Beijing Anding Hospital for their assistance in the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Yu-Tao Xiang, Chi-Ming Leung, Wai-Kwong Tang & Gabor S. Ungvari

  2. Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Yu-Tao Xiang & Yong-Zhen Weng

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Shatin Hospital, Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong SAR, China

    Yu-Tao Xiang

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  1. Yu-Tao Xiang
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  2. Yong-Zhen Weng
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Correspondence to Yu-Tao Xiang.

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Xiang, YT., Weng, YZ., Leung, CM. et al. Subjective quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong and Beijing: relationship to socio-demographic and clinical factors. Qual Life Res 17, 27–36 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9285-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9285-2

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