Health-related quality of life of unemployed individuals diagnosed with a mental illness: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Unemployment is a recognized risk factor for impaired physical and mental health, and numerous studies have shown that unemployed people often report a reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The concurrent effects of having a mental illness and being unemployed reinforce one another, leading to chronic symptoms and reduced employability. This study examined the relationships between unemployment, HRQoL and other work- and health-related factors in unemployed individuals with mental illnesses.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from unemployed adults participating in the "Leipzig-Individual Placement and Support for people with mental illnesses" (LIPSY) project. All participants met ICD-10 criteria for at least one mental disorder. HRQoL was assessed with the 12-Item Short-Form Survey (SF-12), yielding a Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS). Two multiple regression analyses (outcomes: PCS, MCS) included age, gender, education, partnership status, social network size, unemployment duration (≤ 24 vs 24 months), work ability score (WAS), and depression, anxiety, and somatization (Mini-Symptom Checklist, Mini-SCL) as predictors.

Results: Our sample included 452 unemployed participants with mental illnesses with an average age of 35.5 years, 50.4% were female. Higher age and somatization were negatively associated with PCS, while female gender, work ability, and anxiety showed positive associations. MCS was negatively associated with higher education, depression, and anxiety, and positively with work ability.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight the complex associations between demographic, psychological, and work-related factors and HRQoL. Supportive measures for unemployed individuals could have a dual impact by improving both HRQoL and employability.