title: Relative impact of Axis I mental disorders on quality of life among adults in the community.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the relative impact of different mental disorders on adult quality of life (QOL). This study estimated associations between several mental disorders and QOL in a representative American community sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  The QOL instrument was administered to 640 adult participants in the Children in the Community Study, a population-based longitudinal study. DSM-Axis I and Axis II mental disorder diagnoses were assessed by psychiatric interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Poorer QOL was strongly associated with having a mood disorder, especially major depression disorder (MDD) (effect size, ES = -0.57, p < 0.01), whereas poorer quality social relationships were associated with having dysthymia and bipolar disorders (ES = -0.92, p < 0.01; ES = -0.80, p < 0.05, respectively). Most anxiety disorders were not independently related to QOL with the exception of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which was significantly related to poorer physical health (ES = -0.78, p < 0.01) and psychological well-being (ES = -0.73, p < 0.01) and to less overall QOL (ES = -0.57, p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MDD and PTSD are independently related to impaired QOL and dysthymia and bipolar disorder negatively influence social relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Bingqing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Yunlong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Henian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology