https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4614-8380
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to describe the association between adherence to antipsychotic medication and quality of life (QoL) in a sample of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Methods
Two hundred fifty-three patients were included from three public mental health services from Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. Data were collected using the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10) and the Schizophrenia Quality of Life short-version questionnaire (SQoL-18), which considers 8 dimensions.
Results
Significant associations were found between adherence to antipsychotic medication treatment and QoL (S-QoL-18 index: β = 0.26, p = 0.004; self-esteem: β = 0.37, p = 0.000; and sentimental life: β = 0.20, p = 0.033). Associations of clinical and socio-demographic variables with QoL were identified: severity of psychotic symptoms, awareness of the disease, gender, age, and ethnicity were found to be associated with a lower level of QoL (β from 0.14 −0.56).
Conclusion
This study provides evidence of the association between adherence to treatment and quality of life in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Therefore, as in developed countries, improving adherence to antipsychotic medication would appear to be an important issue to address to improve patients’ QoL in Latin American countries.
Disclosure
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this work.