Objective: To explore the characteristics related to the quality of life and the way of response among patients with anxiety disorder in Shandong province.
Methods: Case-control study was adopted, with secondary data analysis on mental disorders among adults over 18 years of age, in Shandong province. 720 patients with anxiety disorder who met the anxiety diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV, were selected from the database, according to the distributions on gender, age (±3 years of age), village or community. 720 persons without any psychiatric diagnosis were selected and served as controls, under 1 :1 paired choice. Research tools would include:General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12),Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), and questionnaire on general information.
Results: Scores of QLQ among patients with anxiety disorder were lower than that of the control group, with statistically significant difference(P < 0.01). Scores on the negative ways of coping among patients with anxiety disorder were higher than the scores of the control group, with statistically significant difference(P < 0.01). Regardless of gender, age, occupation, education, marriage, religious belief etc., results from the 'two factors anova-analysis' showed that the scores of QLQ among patients with anxiety disorder were still lower than the scores of the control group while the scores on negative coping were still higher than the scores of the control group.
Conclusion: Patients with anxiety disorder and having poor quality of life outnumbered the ones from the control group, and using negative coping ways to cope with the stress events.