Quality of Life of Patients with Depressive Disorder Receiving Antidepressants: Relationship between Quality of Life and Alexithymia.
- Author:
Seuk Hwan RYU
1
Author Information
1. Division of Sleep Clinic, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Soonchunhyang University Gumi Hospital, Gumi, Korea. hanaboram@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Alexithymia;
Quality of life;
Depressive disorder
- MeSH:
Affective Symptoms;
Depression;
Depressive Disorder;
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders;
Health Surveys;
Hostility;
Humans;
Outpatients;
Quality of Life
- From:Korean Journal of Psychopharmacology
2009;20(6):316-324
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and alexithymia in patients with depressive disorders receiving antidepressant medication. METHODS: The sample consisted of patients visiting the outpatient psychiatric unit of a university hospital between January 2007 and June 9. Participants completed the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20-K (TAS-20-K), and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey of the Medical Outcomes Study (SF-36). A total of 75 patients diagnosed with depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria were included in this study. Student t-tests and regression analyses were conducted on the data. RESULTS: Patients with alexithymia obtained lower QoL scores than did patients without alexithymia on eight dimensions of the SF-36. The regression analysis showed that alexithymia was positively associated with hostility and inversely associated with paranoid ideation. CONCLUSION: Patients with alexithymia emerged as more symptomatic on the SCL-90-R and obtained lower QoL scores on eight dimensions of the SF-36 than did patients without alexithymia. It is important that clinicians identify alexithymic characteristics in patients with depressive disorders to help them improve their QoL.
