Abstract:
Background: Quality of life (QOL) has become an important treatment outcome measure for
psychiatric interventions. However, there is little evidence regarding QOL and associated factors
among people with major depressive disorder in Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the QOL and associated factors among people with major depressive
disorder attending follow-up treatment at Jimma Medical Center, southwest Ethiopia, 2022.
Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 01 to
October 30, 2022, at JMC. A systematic random sampling technique was used to recruit a total
of 320 participants. WHOQOL– Brief was used to assess patients’ QOL. The data were coded
and entered into Epi-Data before being exported to SPSS for analysis. Simple and multiple linear
regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with QOL. The unstandardized B
coefficient with a 95% confidence interval was calculated in the final model to identify
independent predictors. The statistical significance was set at a p-value of less than 0.05.
Result: A total of 314 study participants were interviewed with a response rate of 98.1%. The
mean QOL score of participants for each domain (mean± SD) was: physical (44.17±11.39),
psychological (42.56±10.05), social (42.04±12.65), and environmental (45.18±12.46).
Depression severity is significantly associated with all domains of QOL. Low resilience and
stigma are associated with poorer QOL scores in all domains except physical health. Also, two or
more episodes and a low and medium wealth index are associated with all domains except the
psychological domain. The onset of the illness is associated with poorer QOL scores in physical
and environmental health domains and the presence of comorbid medical illness is significantly
associated with physical and psychological domains. Poor social support is associated with
poorer QOL scores in social and environmental domains. medication non-adherence and >10
years duration of illness significantly associated only with the physical health domain.
Conclusion: The mean QOL score of people with MDD in each domain was low. The severity
of depression among the participants strongly negatively predicted all domains. The
aforementioned factors must be considered during assessing and treating patients with MDD to
improve QOL.
