Relationship Between Quality of Life and Social Support Among Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study

Many studies have demonstrated that quality of life (QoL) is poor among individuals suffering from severe mental illness like bipolar disorder (BD) and Schizophrenia due to various factors like residual symptoms, side effects of medication, and lack of social support. This study aims to explore the relationship between QoL and perceived social support among patients with schizophrenia and BD in remission and to identify the factors associated with QoL. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out in a Psychiatry outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. Patients diagnosed with BPAD and Schizophrenia as per International Classification Disorders-10 diagnostic criteria were recruited for the study. The WHO Quality of Life BREF Scale was used to assess quality of life and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was used to assess social support. The mean age of Schizophrenia and the BD group was 35.86 years (± 11.40) and 38.34 years (± 11.10). In the quality of life domain, patients with schizophrenia had significantly high environmental health as compared to the bipolar group. More than one-half of patients with Schizophrenia and three-fifth of patients with BD perceived high support. The perceived support was found to be more from the family followed by friends and significant others. There was a significant positive correlation between social support and quality of life in patients with Schizophrenia only. Hence, psychosocial interventions aimed at improving social support needs to promoted in routine patient care