Quality of life in primary care

摘要

AbstractThe effects of illness and its treatment on quality of life have become important considerations in drug evaluation. Quality of life is difficult to define showing great individual variability. It is not the same as ‘health’. It is concerned with the satisfaction of primary and secondary needs, satisfaction with life and the achievement of a sense of well being.Depression is a very common disorder and it has characteristic features which are likely to impair quality of life. Patients suffering from depressive symptoms have been shown to have worse physical and social functioning, spend more days in bed, have more bodily pains and worse current health than those with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and arthritis. Antidepressants have a broad spectrum of pharmacological effects and they may, in varying degrees, produce a range of side effects which can have a deleterious effect on quality of life. Side effect profile is therefore an important consideration in drug selection.Measurement of quality of life poses many problems. A number of general measures have been developed, but more specific devices are needed in assessing the impact of depression and its treatment.In health economic assessments the cost utility approach is favoured. This entails an assessment of the effect of new treatments on quality of l