title: Physical and mental health-related quality of life among older people with schizophrenia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Since the time of Kraeplin, schizophrenia has been thought of as a disorder with progressive deterioration in functioning. An important aspect of functioning is both physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of age to both mental and physical aspects of HRQoL in individuals with schizophrenia as compared to normal comparison subjects (NCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Middle-aged and older community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia (N=486) were compared to NCs (N=101). Health related quality of life was measured using the SF-36 Physical Health and Mental Health Component scores. The relationship between age and HRQoL was examined using linear regressions. In addition, we performed exploratory analyses to examine the effects of confounding variables on this relationship, and to examine the effects of age on SF-36 subscales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with schizophrenia had lower SF-36 Physical and Mental Health Component scores than NCs, and these differences persisted after adjusting for the age difference between the two groups. The relationship between age and mental, but not physical, HRQoL was significantly different between the patients with schizophrenia and the NCs. Specifically, older age was associated with higher mental HRQoL among patients with schizophrenia, but not among the NCs. This difference remained significant after examining multiple potential confounding demographic and clinical variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found that older age was associated with greater mental health quality of life. Longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm our finding, and to examine potential mechanisms responsible for possible improvement in mental HRQoL with age.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161, USA. dfolsom@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Folsom
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Depp
authors.forename: Barton W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Brent T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Mausbach
authors.forename: Shahrokh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golshan
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fellows
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cardenas
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Helena C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kraemer
authors.forename: Dilip V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Jeste
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires