Regional gray matter reduction correlates with subjective quality of life in schizophrenia

Subjective quality of life (QOL) has been recognized as an important consideration in schizophrenia. Several symptoms and neurocognitive functions were shown to be correlated with subjective QOL; however its determinants are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the association between brain structural abnormalities and subjective QOL in patients with schizophrenia. Forty-five schizophrenia patients and 48 age, sex, and education-matched healthy participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) was used to rate subjective QOL. We performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to investigate regional brain alterations. Relative to normal controls, schizophrenia patients exhibited gray matter reductions mainly in the frontal and temporal regions. Worse psychosocial subscale of SQLS was associated with gray matter (GM) reduction in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and worse motivation/energy subscale was associated with gray matter reduction in the left superior frontal sulcus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and the left inferior temporal gyrus. The correlation between DLPFC GM volume and psychosocial subscale of SQLS disappeared after controlling for severity of psychopathology, while the other correlations remained significant when controlled by demographic and clinical variables. Combining imaging techniques with psychosocial methods would help to elucidate those factors that are associated with QOL.