Quality of life instruments used in problem gambling studies: A systematic review and a meta-analysis

Publication date: Available online 2 July 2019Source: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsAuthor(s): Nicolas A. Bonfils, Henri-Jean Aubin, Amine Benyamina, Frédéric Limosin, Amandine LuquiensAbstractThe purpose of this systematic review was to identify the instruments used in original articles to measure quality of life (QOL) or health-related QOL (HRQOL) in gambling-disorder patients and to assess their suitability.The systematic literature search to identify QOL/HRQOL instruments used among gambling-disorder patients was performed in PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO databases up to November 2018. A meta-analysis was performed to study the effect size of the QOL/HRQOL instruments and gambling outcomes after an intervention.Thirty-five studies were included. Seven types of instruments aiming at measuring QOL/HRQOL were identified. These instruments explored twenty-six domains. The instruments used were not properly validated in the studies. Most of the clinical trials reported a significant difference in QOL/HRQOL between pre- and post-intervention. These results were concordant with gambling outcomes but had a smaller effect size than gambling outcomes.The currently used general instruments are efficient to measure a significant change after an intervention but might not evaluate specific areas of health related QOL impacted by gambling disorders

Source: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - July 2, 2019 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research