Psychosocial functioning impairment in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder II: The role of clinical factors

Abstract

Introduction

Growing body of evidence have showed that euthymic bipolar patients have poor psychosocial functioning. Most of the studies have focused on the psychosocial functioning in euthymic bipolar disorder (BD)-I patients. On the contrary, there have been limited researches investigating psychosocial functioning in euthymic BD-II patients. Moreover, the factors associated with psychosocial functioning in euthymic patients with BD II have been also understudied.

Objectives/aims

Aim of our study was to investigate the association between clinical variables and poor psychosocial functioning in euthymic BD-II patients. Hypothesis of this study was that euthymic BD-II patients would have low level of psychosocial functioning compared with healthy individuals.

Methods

BD-II (n = 37) and healthy subjects (n = 35) were compared in terms of their psychosocial functioning which were assessed by Functional Assessment Short Test (FAST). The euthymic state was confirmed by low scores both on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Anxiety symptoms were also assessed by Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) in both groups. Clinical variables were taken as independent variables and FAST scores were taken as dependent variable in order to run correlation analysis in BD-II group.

Results

No socio-demographic differences were found between two groups. Euthymic BD-II patients had significantly higher FAST, HARS, HDRS YMRS scores compared with healthy individuals. Only HDRS scores correlated with FAST scores of BD-II patients.

Conclusions

This study indicated that euthymic BD-II patients had poorer psychosocial functioning. And subclinical depressive symptoms were associated with poor psychosocial functioning.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.