Quality of Life Scale and symptomatology of schizophrenic patients: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: The Quality of Life Scale (QLS) was developed to assess the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia, by Heinrichs, Hanlon and Carpenter, in 1984. Objectives: This systematic review analysed the scientific evidence produced from the QLS results and its relationship with the symptomatology of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: An electronic search was conducted on Pubmed/Medline and Scopus to identify relevant papers published within the last ten years (January 2007 to December 2016). The inclusion criteria were: studies whose samples included only outpatients with schizophrenia; studies whose aim was to compare the QLS results with the symptomatology of schizophrenia; studies written in English. The PRISMA criteria for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses were used. Results: Twelve studies were included in this systematic review. A total of 1645 patients with schizophrenia from four different countries were analysed. Ten articles used a cross-sectional study methodology and 2 articles involved a longitudinal study. Conclusions: Synthesis suggests that quality of life/functioning in patients with schizophrenia can be influenced by negative symptoms. Nevertheless, in relation to positive and depressive symptoms, the results are not congruent nor consistent. Therefore, this literature review indicated that more research is needed in order to obtain better evidence with regards to the influence of that symptomatology on the quality of life/functioning in patients with schizophrenia.