MOS-SF-36 IN EVALUATING HEALTH-RELATED DUALITY OF LIFE IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTS

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was evaluated in a sample of al cohol-dependent patients with the 36-item Medical Outcome Study Short- Form Health Survey (MOS-SF-36). The instrument was administered to 147 patients (77% males), aged 26-78, with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of alcoh ol dependence. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS), the Severity of Al cohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ), and the Addiction Severity Inde x (AST) were also administered to the first 100 patients included in t he study. The reliability and validity of the MOS-SF-36 were evaluated . Test-retest intraclass coefficients for a 10-day interval were in th e range .65 to .79, whereas the Cronbach alpha coefficient indicated g ood internal consistency (range .70 to .89). Compared to scores observ ed in the general population, MOS-SF-36 scores for alcohol-dependent p atients were relatively low (indicating worse perception of HRQoL), es pecially in the psychological and role dimensions (range 52/100 to 55/ 100), but were closer to populational values in the physical and funct ional dimensions (range 61/100 to 75/100. The highest correlation betw een MOS-SF-36 dimensions and HDS was found in the MOSSF-36 ''mental he alth'' dimension (r = -.56, p < .001); this dimension was also correla ted highly with the psychiatric dimension of the ASI (r = -.73, p < .0 01). The eight dimensions of the MOS-SF-36 were 21% to 127% lower in p atients with HDS greater than or equal to 16 (major depression) compar ed to those with HDS less than or equal to 7 (absence of depression). The MOS-SF-36 dimensions were 10% to 141% lower in patients with high ''ASI alcohol'' scores, indicating worse HRQoL profiles with a higher severity of alcohol dependence. The MOS-SF-36 presents good criteria f or reliability and validity in alcohol-dependent patients. The results suggested that alcohol-dependent patients perceived their problems mo re as psychological than physical. The severity of alcohol dependence anti depression seemed to influence the perception of HRQoL negatively .