Mental health and health-related quality of life - A 10-year follow-up of tortured refugees

The aim of the study was to identify predictors of mental symptoms (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety), and of health-related quality of life in refugees 10 years after referral to the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, and to study changes in mental health over time. The study sample comprises 139 tortured refugees admitted to a pretreatment assessment in 1991 to 1994. Data on background and trauma, and in a subsample on mental symptoms, were collected at baseline. In 2002 and 2003, data on mental symptoms, health-related quality of life, and the participants' social situation were collected. The level of emotional distress was high at follow-up. Social relations and unemployment at follow-up were important predictors of mental health symptoms and low health-related quality of life. A significant decrease in mental symptoms was observed in the subsample. Social relations and unemployment should be taken into account when developing health-related and social interventions.