EPV165 - Association of number of chronic physical multimorbidities and health-related quality of life in anxiety/stress-related disorders compared with schizophrenia-spectrum and mood/affective disorders
EPV165
Association of number of chronic physical multimorbidities and health-related quality of life in anxiety/stress-related disorders compared with schizophrenia-spectrum and mood/affective disorders
K. Matić 1,*, Ž. Bajić 1, K. Bosak 1 2, S. Vuk-Pisk 1 2 3, V. Grošić 1 2, B. Ivana 1, I. Simunovic Filipcic 2 4, I. Filipcic 1 2 3
1University Psychiatric Clinic Sveti Ivan, Zagreb, 2Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, 3University of Applied Health Science,, 4Department of Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Introduction: Chronic physical multimorbidity (CPM) impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in psychiatric patients, but whether the rate of deterioration with increasing somatic burden differs by diagnosis is unclear. We focused on anxiety/stress-related disorders, using schizophrenia-spectrum (SSD) and mood/affective disorders as comparators.
Objectives: To test whether the CPM–HRQoL association in anxiety/stress-related disorders differs from the association in SSD and mood/affective disorders.
Methods: Cross-sectional study on patients treated in tertiary psychiatric institution in Croatia. CPM was modelled as a continuous count of conditions. Outcomes were SF-36 Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) Component Summary scores. Linear regression with robust standard errors included diagnosis × comorbidity interaction and covariates (gender, age, education, employment, smoking). BMI was not entered because obesity was part of the comorbidity count.
Results: The sample included 313 patients with anxiety/stress-related disorders, 314 patients diagnosed with SSD and 230 with mood/affective disorders. In diagnosis-stratified unadjusted models, each additional chronic condition was associated with MCS change of −5.86 points in SSD (p < 0.001), −2.99 in mood/affective (p = 0.001), and −2.48 in anxiety/stress (p < 0.001). In the adjusted interaction model, the reference slope in SSD was −5.31 points per additional condition. Slope differences versus SSD were +2.32 for mood/affective (p = 0.116) and +2.66 for anxiety/stress (p = 0.044), indicating a significant MCS decline with increasing multimorbidity in anxiety/stress and an intermediate, non-significant decline in mood/affective. Model R² = 0.16. In analogous continuous PCS models, slopes were consistently negative and did not differ significantly by diagnosis.
Conclusions: CPM is associated with lower SF-36 MCS across psychiatric diagnoses. Compared with SSD, anxiety/stress-related disorders show a significantly larger MCS decline per additional condition, while mood/affective disorders are intermediate. For PCS, deterioration per condition appears similar across diagnoses. Findings support integrated somatic–psychiatric care and suggest that the mental-health impact per added physical condition depends on diagnostic context, particularly in anxiety/stress-related disorders.
Disclosure of Interest: None Declared