%0 Journal Article
%T Influence of Anxiety and Depression on Quality of Life of People with Schizophrenia in the Eastern Region of Poland
%A Marta Makara-Studzi¨½ska
%A Ma£¿gorzata Wo£¿yniak
%A Karolina Kry£¿
%J ISRN Psychiatry
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/839324
%X Schizophrenia is the most severe and most debilitating mental illness, which is one of the first ten causes of disability in youth and elderly people. Regarding many consequences that schizophrenia brings for individual and social functioning of ill people, their assessment of the quality of their lives seems to be interesting. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence and severity of anxiety and depression as well as analysis of the impact level of anxiety and depression on life quality of people with schizophrenia. A group of patients with schizophrenia from psychiatric centers was involved in a study. A set of methods, included: author's questionnaire, the quality of life scale WHOQOL-BREF, and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Anxiety disorders occurred in more than 78% of respondents, while depressive disorders in more than half of respondents. The more severe anxiety and depressive disorders, the lower values were observed in all tested components of quality of life. The study of quality of life of the mentally ill patients should be conducted on a continuous basis in order to explore the current factors influencing the improvement of their psychophysical welfare. It is necessary to promote prohealthy mental lifestyle. 1. Introduction Schizophrenia is a chronic disease characterized by diverse and varied picture of the clinical course. It is undoubtedly the most serious and most debilitating mental illness, which is one of the first ten causes of disability among the young and the elderly. The risk over a lifetime reaches 1% regardless of geographical areas and cultural regions in the world. Usually it begins in adolescence or early adulthood and for most patients is lifelong. In the course of the disease all aspects of human functioning before illness are changing. The incidence is equal in both sexes, but men usually suffer at an earlier age, women in later life. In Poland, schizophrenia affects about 400 thousand people. In the province of Lublin in 2008, the number of patients with schizophrenia was 6674, and the number of newly registered cases of the disease was equal to 1225 [1]. The fact of occurrence of chronic illness and the phenomenon of stigmatisation that is associated with the attitude of the society toward the mentally ill people often makes it impossible for them to start their own family. Among those remaining in the formal marriages or informal relationships the occurrence of the disease usually worsens the relationship with their spouse or partner, with children and other family members. Their
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.psychiatry/2012/839324/