Working memory (WM) deficit in bipolar disorder (BD) is heterogeneous and seems to be affected by both, demographic and clinical aspects, of the patient.

To assess the WM performance in euthymic bipolar patients (BP) comparing to healthy controls (HC) and to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with it.

A case-control study was conducted among euthymic bipolar patients according to DSM-5. The recruitment of patients was performed in the outpatient psychiatric unit in the university hospital Hedi Chaker in Sfax during the period from January to December 2020. The HC were matched to BP on gender, age and education level. The Screening for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry scale (SCIP) was used to assess the WM performance by the WM test (WMT).

We recruited 61 BP (37 males and 24 females) and 40 HC (20 males and 20 females). The average age of BP was 41.75 years (SD=11.6 years). The BD group included 47 BD type I and 14 BD type II patients. The mean duration of illness was 9.75 years (SD=7.93 years). Thirty-seven BP (60.7%) had a history of psychotic symptoms. The WMT score was significantly lower among BP than HC (p<0,001). The female gender, the type II of BD and the history of psychotic symptoms correlated with a poorer performance on WMT (p=0.019; 0.017 and 0.002, respectively).

BP have shown significant impaired performance in WM even during euthymia. Female gender of patient, type II of BD and psychotic symptoms seem to be the predictors of this impairment.

No significant relationships.

Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) frequently experience residual symptoms, problems in psychosocial functioning, cognitive impairment, and poor quality of life (QOL).

* To evaluate the QOL of euthymic patients with BD compared to healthy controls (HC). * To identify factors associated with its deterioration.

This is a comparative and analytical study, conducted over 3 months, involving 30 euthymic patients with BD, followed up in the outpatient psychiatry department of Hedi Chaker University Hospital in Sfax (Tunisia). They were compared to 34 HC. General, clinical and therapeutic data were collected using a pre-established questionnaire. QOL was assessed with the «36 item Short-Form Health Survey» (SF-36).

The mean ages of BD patients and HC were 44.17 years and 40.1 years, respectively. Compared with HC, patients with BD had decreased overall SF-36 scores (53.73 vs 73.78; p=0.000) and decreased physical and psychological subdomain scores (p=0.001; p=0.000). The study of the relationship between the dimensional average scores and different variables revealed correlations between; physical health problems and somatic disease (p=0.021) and unemployment (p=0.001), impaired general health and somatic disease (p=0.02) and psychotropic association (p=0.021), emotional health problems and psychiatric family history (p=0.023), pain and psychotropic association (p=0.031), and impaired global QOL and psychiatric family history (p=0.05).

Our results confirm the impairment of the QOL of patients with BD even in euthymic periods. Many factors have been associated, including demographic and clinical variables. The improvement of QOL is to consider these factors in the management of these patients.