Neurocognitive function in bipolar disorder: a comparison between bipolar I and II disorder and matched controls

Cognitive deficits have been documented in patients with bipolar disorder. Further, it has been suggested that the degree and type of cognitive impairment differ between bipolar I and bipolar II disorder, but data is conflicting and remains inconclusive. This study aimed to clarify the suggested dif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC psychiatry Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 165
Main Authors:	Pålsson, Erik, Figueras, Clara, Johansson, Anette G M, Ekman, Carl-Johan, Hultman, Björn, Östlind, Josefin, Landén, Mikael
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 07-06-2013 BioMed Central
Subjects:	Adult Agreements Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use Antipsychotic drugs Attention Bipolar disorder Bipolar Disorder - complications Bipolar Disorder - drug therapy Bipolar Disorder - psychology Cognition Cognition & reasoning Cognition disorders Cognition Disorders - complications Cognition Disorders - diagnosis Cognition Disorders - psychology Cognitive ability Complications and side effects Dosage and administration Drug therapy Executive Function Female Humans Male Medical Biotechnology Medical research Medicin och hälsovetenskap Medicine, Experimental Medicinsk bioteknologi Memory Middle Aged Neuropsychological Tests Neurosciences Psychiatry Risk factors Studies Verbal learning Sweden
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Summary:	Cognitive deficits have been documented in patients with bipolar disorder. Further, it has been suggested that the degree and type of cognitive impairment differ between bipolar I and bipolar II disorder, but data is conflicting and remains inconclusive. This study aimed to clarify the suggested differences in cognitive impairment between patients with bipolar I and II disorder in a relatively large, clinically stable sample while controlling for potential confounders. 67 patients with bipolar I disorder, 43 with bipolar II disorder, and 86 randomly selected population-based healthy controls were compared. A number of neuropsychological tests were administered, assessing verbal and visual memory and executive functions. Patients were in a stable phase during testing. Patients with bipolar type I and type II were cognitively impaired compared to healthy controls, but there were no statistically significant differences between the two subtypes. The strongest predictor of cognitive impairment within the patient group was current antipsychotic treatment. The present study suggests that the type and degree of cognitive dysfunction is similar in bipolar I and II patients. Notably, treatment with antipsychotics - but not a history of psychosis - was associated with more severe cognitive impairment. Given that patients with bipolar I disorder are more likely to be on antipsychotic drugs, this might explain why some previous studies have found that patients with type I bipolar disorder are more cognitively impaired than those with type II.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	1471-244X 1471-244X
DOI:	10.1186/1471-244x-13-165