The importance of quality of life in patients with alcohol abuse and dependence.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After participating in this educational activity, the reader should be better able to identify the instruments that are currently being used to measure quality of life (QoL) in alcohol abuse and dependence; determine the impact of alcohol abuse and dependence on QoL; and evaluate the impact of treating alcohol abuse and dependence on QoL.

OBJECTIVE

Quality of life, which consists of the physical, mental, and social domains, has been shown to be negatively affected by alcohol abuse and dependence. This review aims to examine QoL in alcohol abuse and dependence by reviewing the instruments used to measure it and by analyzing the impact of alcohol abuse and dependence and of treatment on QoL.

METHODS

Studies were identified using a database search of PubMed and PsycINFO from the past 40 years (1971-2011) using the following keywords: abuse OR dependence, OR use AND alcohol, AND Quality of Life, QoL, Health-related quality of life, HRQOL. Two authors agreed independently on including 50 studies that met specific selection criteria.

RESULTS

Although several global measures of QoL have established reliability and validity, many alcohol-specific measures of QoL have not yet been validated. Nevertheless, QoL has been shown to be significantly impaired in those with alcohol abuse and dependence, particularly in the domains of mental health and social functioning, the very areas that show the greatest improvement with abstinence and its maintenance. Moreover, the literature demonstrates the utility of using QoL measures throughout assessment and treatment as a motivational tool and as a marker for treatment efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Measuring and monitoring QoL during assessment and treatment can add important value to patient recovery, for QoL improves with treatment and successful abstinence. Therefore, targeted, disease-specific assessments of QoL are warranted to address the impairments in the physical, mental, and social domains in alcohol abuse and dependence, thereby improving long-term outcomes.