title: Regional gray matter reduction correlates with subjective quality of life in schizophrenia.
abstract: Subjective quality of life (QOL) has been recognized as an important consideration in schizophrenia. Several symptoms and neurocognitive functions were shown to be correlated with subjective QOL; however its determinants are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the association between brain structural abnormalities and subjective QOL in patients with schizophrenia. Forty-five schizophrenia patients and 48 age, sex, and education-matched healthy participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) was used to rate subjective QOL. We performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to investigate regional brain alterations. Relative to normal controls, schizophrenia patients exhibited gray matter reductions mainly in the frontal and temporal regions. Worse psychosocial subscale of SQLS was associated with gray matter (GM) reduction in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and worse motivation/energy subscale was associated with gray matter reduction in the left superior frontal sulcus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and the left inferior temporal gyrus. The correlation between DLPFC GM volume and psychosocial subscale of SQLS disappeared after controlling for severity of psychopathology, while the other correlations remained significant when controlled by demographic and clinical variables. Combining imaging techniques with psychosocial methods would help to elucidate those factors that are associated with QOL.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Shogoin-Kawaharacho 54, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors: Shiho
authors: S
authors: Ubukata
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Miyata
authors: Miho
authors: M
authors: Yoshizumi
authors: Teruhisa
authors: T
authors: Uwatoko
authors: Kazuyuki
authors: K
authors: Hirao
authors: Hironobu
authors: H
authors: Fujiwara
authors: Ryosaku
authors: R
authors: Kawada
authors: Shinsuke
authors: S
authors: Fujimoto
authors: Yusuke
authors: Y
authors: Tanaka
authors: Manabu
authors: M
authors: Kubota
authors: Akihiko
authors: A
authors: Sasamoto
authors: Nobukatsu
authors: N
authors: Sawamoto
authors: Hidenao
authors: H
authors: Fukuyama
authors: Hidehiko
authors: H
authors: Takahashi
authors: Toshiya
authors: T
authors: Murai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007564:Japan; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology