BACKGROUND: Quality of life is an important outcome measure for patients with psychosis. We investigated whether going into stable symptomatic remission is associated with a more positive development of subjective quality of life (S-QoL) and if different patient characteristics are associated with S-QoL depending on remission status.

METHODS: Three hundred and one patients with a first-episode psychosis were included at baseline. At 10-year follow-up 186 were reassessed. QoL was assessed by Lehman's Quality of Life Interview. Remission was defined according to criteria proposed by the Remission in Schizophrenia Working Group. One-way ANOVA, mixed model analysis, bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS: Patients going into stable symptomatic remission showed a more positive S-QoL-development over the follow-up period and reported higher life satisfaction at 10-year follow-up compared to non-remission. At 10-year follow-up, depressive symptoms and alcohol abuse or dependence explained a significant amount of variance in S-QoL among patients in remission. Among patients in non-remission, PANSS excitative component explained a significant amount of variance in S-QoL. All significant effects were negative.

CONCLUSIONS: Stable symptomatic remission is associated with a more positive development of overall life satisfaction. Furthermore, different symptoms influence life satisfaction depending on status of remission. This has important clinical implications. While patients in remission might need treatment for depressive symptoms to increase S-QoL, in non-remission measures aiming to decrease hostility and uncooperativeness should be part of the treatment approach. Alcohol problems should be treated regardless of remission status.