Health-related quality of life in psychiatric outpatients: a cross-sectional study of associations with symptoms, diagnoses, and employment status.

Background: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a large heterogeneous patient sample seeking outpatient treatment at a specialist mental health clinic.

Method: A sample of 1947 patients with common mental disorders, including depressive-, anxiety-, personality-, hyperkinetic- and trauma-related disorders, completed the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) to assess HRQoL. We investigated clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with the EQ-5D index and the EQ Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) using regression analyses.

Results: The sample reported lower HRQoL compared with the general population and primary mental health care patients. Sick leave, disability pension, work assessment allowance, and more symptoms of anxiety and depression were associated with lower EQ-5D index and EQ VAS scores. Furthermore, being male, use of pain medication and having disorders related to trauma were associated with reduced EQ-5D index scores, while hyperkinetic disorders were associated with higher EQ-5D index scores.

Conclusion: HRQoL of psychiatric outpatients is clearly impaired. This study indicated a significant association between employment status, symptom severity, and HRQoL in treatment-seeking outpatients. The findings highlight the importance of assessing HRQoL as part of routine clinical assessment.