Quality of life in schizophrenic patients

In the last decades, there has been increased interest in the field of quality of life in mental disorders in general, and particularly in schizophrenia. In addition, the appearance of the atypical antipsychotic drugs (amisulpride, aripiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone) with different therapeutic and side-effect profiles, has promoted a greater interest in assessing the quality of life of schizophrenic patients. In this paper we will briefly summarize the difficulties in assessing quality of life in schizophrenic patients, as well as the results concerning their quality of life and the influence of psychopathology, especially negative and depressive symptoms, on it. We will also review data from recent clinical trials showing the impact ofantipsychotic treatments and their side effects upon quality of life.