Impact of comorbid anxiety disorders on health-related quality of life among patients with major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the impact of comorbid anxiety disorders-posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder-on health-related quality of life among primary care patients enrolled in a collaborative care depression intervention study for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

METHODS

Baseline data were used from 324 participants in the Telemedicine Enhanced Antidepressant Management (TEAM) Study, a multisite randomized effectiveness trial targeting VA primary care patients with depression. Health-related quality of life was measured by using the Quality of Well-Being Scale, self-administered version (QWB-SA) and the mental component summary (MCS-12V) and physical component summary (PCS-12V) of the 12-item Short Form Health Survey for Veterans (SF-12V).

RESULTS

A majority of participants (69 percent) had at least one anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD predicted scores on the QWB-SA. PTSD predicted scores on the PCS-12V, but none of the comorbid anxiety disorders predicted scores on the MCS-12V. In addition, social support, depression severity, and the number of chronic medical conditions significantly predicted QWB-SA scores; the number of self-reported chronic physical health conditions and the number of depression episodes significantly predicted PCS-12V scores; and social support and depression severity significantly predicted MCS-12V scores.

CONCLUSIONS

According to scores on the QWB-SA, generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD comorbid with major depressive disorder impair health-related quality of life above and beyond major depressive disorder alone.