Quality of life in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies

Abstract

Background Although numerous studies have examined the impact of schizophrenia on quality of life (QoL), the results have been mixed. This meta-analysis compared QoL across various domains between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls and identified the moderators of group differences. Methods A meta-analysis of case-control studies was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Major international databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and PsycINFO) and Chinese databases (CNKI and Wanfang) were searched from their inception to December 2024. Studies comparing QoL between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls using standardized validated instruments (e.g., WHOQOL, SF-36) were..