Assessment of quality of life in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome

Objective: To assess the quality of life (QOL) in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) who presented for inpatient de-addiction programme. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving 100 consecutive consenting patients within the age of 18-65 years, admitted under inpatient de-addiction unit of tertiary care teaching hospital during 2013-14 after excluding axis-1 psychiatric disorders, major medical illnesses, and other disabilities. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), 26-item World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Scale-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) were administered and statistical analysis was done. Results: Ninety four per cent of the population were males and mean age was 39.08 (±7.66) years. Sixty six per cent were from urban background. The mean scores (transformed scores of 100 version in parenthesis) in physical domain was 9.4±1.73 (33.9), psychological domain 10.3±3.7 (37.8), social relationships domain 10.3±2.7 (39.9), and environment domain 12.1±1.9 (50.3) with lower the scores, poorer the QOL. Complicated withdrawal group and alcohol-induced psychotic disorder group had poorer QOL in physical and psychological domains. Conclusion: Patients with ADS has poor QOL in our study with similar findings reflected in studies from different parts of world. These findings may help in devising better treatment approaches, planning, and individualising rehabilitation and improving productivity and functioning of patients, and thus, ultimately reducing burden on society.