Association between Alcohol Consumption and Health-Related Quality of Life among Hospital and Ambulatory Care Patients with Past Year Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

Background: Little is known about how substance use affects health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in depressed individuals. Here, associations between alcohol consumption and HRQOL in hospital and ambulatory care patients with past-year depressive symptoms are analyzed. Method: The sample consisted of 590 participants (26.8% non-drinkers) recruited via consecutive screenings. Individuals with alcohol use disorders were excluded. HRQOL was assessed with the Veterans Rand 12-item health survey (VR-12). Multivariable fractional polynomials (MFP) regression analyses were conducted (1) to test for non-linear associations between average daily consumption and HRQOL and (2) to analyze associations between alcohol consumption and the physical and mental health component summaries of the VR-12 and their subdomains. Results: Alcohol consumption was positively associated with the physical health component summary of the VR-12 (p = 0.001) and its subdomains general health (p = 0.006), physical functioning (p < 0.001), and bodily pain (p = 0.017), but not with the mental health component summary (p = 0.941) or any of its subdomains. Average daily alcohol consumption was not associated with HRQOL. Conclusion: Alcohol consumption was associated with better physical HRQOL. Findings do not justify ascribing alcohol positive effects on HRQOL. Data indicate that non-drinkers may suffer from serious health disorders. The results of this study can inform the development of future alcohol- and depression-related interventions.

Impact of COVID-19 Infection on Health-Related Quality of Life in the Japanese Population: A Large Health-Insurance-Based Database Study

“…Age and sex at baseline and other variables were obtained from annual health checkup data in 2020. The variables that were considered potential confounders of the association between COVID-19 infection and HRQoL based on the existing evidence were included as covariates in the adjusted models: age (continuous) [23][24][25], sex [23][24][25], antihypertensive drug use (yes; no) [25][26][27], insulin injection or hypoglycaemic drug use (yes; no) [25][26][27], cholesterol-lowering drug use (yes; no) [25][26][27], body mass index (BMI) [27], smoking status (yes: smoked more than a total of 100 cigarettes in the past period or for more than 6 months and smoked in the latest month; no) [28], frequency of alcohol consumption (daily, sometimes, rarely) [29], exercise habits (yes: exercise with slight sweating for 30 min or more than at least 2 days/week for 1 year or more; no) [30], and sufficient rest through sleep (yes; no) [31]. BMI was classified into three categories based on the criteria of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity [32]: underweight (<18.5 kg/m 2 ), normal body weight (18.5-25 kg/m 2 ), and overweight (≥25 kg/m 2 ).…”

Characteristics and Spatial–Temporal Differences of Urban “Production, Living and Ecological” Environmental Quality in China

“…The evaluation system of “production, living and ecological” environmental quality in cities is the basis for the balanced development of “production, living and ecological” environment. A large number of studies have been conducted and many important research results have been achieved, including a series of studies on the quality of production environment and its influencing factors [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], a series of studies on the quality of life and its influencing factors [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], and a series of studies on water, soil and gas pollution and related environmental pollution [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”