title: Critical review of studies on quality of life in psychiatric patients published in Serbian medical journals from 2000 to 2009.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quality of life (QoL) is known to be indicative of the level of social functioning in mental health patients. However, the research on QoL, in the field of psychiatry, is not as comprehensive as it is in other domains of medicine. The aim of this study was to review the research evidence on QoL in psychiatric patients, published in Serbian medical journals during the last decade.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research data from studies on quality of life in psychiatric patients, published in Serbian medical journals from 2000 to 2009, were obtained by searching the databases Kobson and Medline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found eight studies on QoL in psychiatric patients published in Serbian medical journals from 2000 to 2009. The reviewed articles were focused on the comparison of QoL between psychiatric patients and healthy controls, or somatic patients, the research on the relationship of QoL and general psychopathology, and the research on QoL and medical treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QoL in patients suffering from mental disorders, as the outcome variable, is of a paramount interest in the follow-up treatment studies in psychiatry targeting critical issues of mental illness management strategies. QoL of psychiatric patients in Serbia is still under-researched, and it would be important to measure QoL from both a patient's and observer's (i.e. family members, friends, nursing staff, mental health professionals, etc.) perspective, in the context of social, economic, and cultural background of the patient. In the future, the studies on QoL in psychiatric patients in Serbia should also rely on "disease specific" assessment scales, which would consider particular aspects of psychopathology, and eventually follow up longitudinal course of mental illness, treatment outcome, and recovery.
authors.affiliation: University Clinical Center of Serbia, Pasterova 2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. mjasovicgasic0@gmail.com
authors.forename: Miroslava
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jašović-Gašić
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lačković
authors.forename: Bojana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dunjić-Kostić
authors.forename: Maja M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pantović
authors.forename: Tijana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cvetić
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damjanović
authors.forename: Olivera
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vuković
authors.forename: Jovana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ceković
authors.forename: Aleksandar A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jovanović
mesh_terms: D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D008603:Mental Health; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D055771:Serbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome