Interepisodic Functioning in Patients with Bipolar Disorder in Remission

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD), despite recovering symptomatically, suffer from several functional impairments even in remission. The actual causes of impaired functioning are less known. Materials and Methods: The study aimed to examine the clinical and psychosocial determinants of functioning in patients with BD in remission. A cross-sectional single-group design was adopted ( n = 150). Participants meeting the study criteria were screened with Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview Scale. The selected participants were administered various tools to assess the level of functioning and the clinical, psychosocial determinants of functioning. Results: The clinical characteristics of the sample included early age of onset of illness, presence of precipitating factors, fewer episodes, minimal comorbidities, history of psychotic episodes, family history of mental illness, good medication adherence, and low depression and mania scores. Psychosocial factors included higher stress and moderate social support and self-esteem in the sample. Poor functioning patients had a history of longer hospital stay and had greater scores on depression, mania, stress, and maladaptive coping styles than better functioning patients. Conclusion: Higher depression, mania, stress, and maladaptive coping strategies were related to poor functioning, while higher medication adherence, self-esteem, and social support were related to better functioning.

Social support in patients with bipolar disorder and differing ages at onset

“…Another possibility is related to the type of scale used, as this meta-analysis focused on a scale that does a wide-ranging assessment of the functional domains, using both patient's and clinician's perceptions. Furthermore, a previous study used FAST to examine interepisodic functioning of BD and found that an earlier age at onset contributed to impaired functioning, inconsistent with our results (Wesley et al, 2018). According to our knowledge, there were no studies that investigated associations between age at onset and functional impairment with the SDS in BD patients.…”

“…Furthermore, an earlier age at onset may contribute to impair functioning among BD patients. In fact, Wesley et al (2018) found that disengagement coping strategies were frequent among poor functioning BD patients, with potential impairment on socialization. However, these associations should be better explored (Wesley et al, 2018).…”

“…In fact, Wesley et al (2018) found that disengagement coping strategies were frequent among poor functioning BD patients, with potential impairment on socialization. However, these associations should be better explored (Wesley et al, 2018).…”

Prevalence of comorbidities and correlates of hospital readmission rate in patients with acute mania: A one‐year retrospective data from a tertiary care

“…A recent meta‐analysis suggested that 70% of patients with BD‐I had at least one mood episode after a 4‐year follow‐up . Several factors may contribute to the relapse in patients with BD‐I including nonadherence to treatment, family history of mood disorder, poor functioning, psychosocial factors (climate, low social support, life events, and childhood trauma) . Moreover, physical comorbidities–considered to be one of the many factors that increase hospital readmission rates in manic patients–might also lead to further manic episodes in patients with BD‐I .…”

The Role of Amygdala in Patients With Euthymic Bipolar Disorder During Resting State

“…However, despite the absence of clinical symptoms, these patients with euthymic BD report challenges and difficulties in adaptive skills and functioning. They do not recover completely and show difficulties in attaining their premorbid functioning ( 11 ). However, much less is known about the euthymic period and its underlying mechanisms.…”