Impact of mental disorders and chronic physical conditions on quality-adjusted life years in Singapore

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 2695
• Main Authors: Abdin, Edimansyah, Chong, Siow Ann, Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit, Shafie, Saleha, Verma, Swapna, Luo, Nan, Tan, Kelvin Bryan, James, Lyn, Heng, Derrick, Subramaniam, Mythily
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14.02.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699/476/1300; 692/699/476/1414; 692/699/476/4032; 692/700/478/174; 692/700/784; Abuse; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol abuse; Anxiety; Anxiety - epidemiology; Bipolar disorder; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Chronic pain; Depression - epidemiology; Drug abuse; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Lung diseases; Male; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - pathology; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Multiple Chronic Conditions - epidemiology; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - epidemiology; Pain; Public health; Quality-Adjusted Life Years; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Singapore - epidemiology; Young Adult; Singapore
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59604-0

The current study aims to evaluate the burden of disease in Singapore by estimating the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost due to mental disorders and chronic physical conditions. The second Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS-2016) was conducted in 2016 among 6126 respondents aged 18 years and above. The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 3.0 (WHO-CIDI 3.0) and a modified version of the CIDI chronic medical disorders checklist were used to assess the 12-month diagnoses of mental and chronic physical disorders while the SF-6D scores derived from the 12-item Short Form Health Survey instrument was used to estimate the QALYs lost. The mean SF-6D score in this population was 0.87. The largest reduction in SF-6D scores among people with mental disorders was observed in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), followed by Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), alcohol abuse, bipolar disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) while the largest reduction in SF-6D score among people with chronic physical conditions was observed in ulcer, followed by lung disease, chronic pain and cardiovascular disease. At the population level, chronic pain was associated with the greatest QALY loss followed by MDD (14,204 and 6,889 respectively). Lung disease was associated with the smallest QALY loss (376). These findings highlight chronic pain, MDD, OCD, cardiovascular disease and GAD as the five leading contributors of QALYs lost in the general population which deserve prioritisation in public health prevention programmes.