Patients with MDD suffer from poor QOL even after reduction of symptom severity. Clinicians should therefore include QOL assessment as an important part of treating depression. More research is needed to examine the factors contributing to poor QOL in MDD and to develop interventions to ameliorate it. Additionally, future treatment studies of MDD with or without comorbid disorders should track QOL as the ultimate outcome measure of treatment success.

Substantial evidence suggests that psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and their combination have favorable effects on QOL in depression. While some studies have shown that combined therapy is superior than either of the two forms alone in improving QOL, additional research is needed to elucidate this effect. QOL measurement is an important dimension of treatment-outcome assessment in patients with depression.