Simplifying profiles of comorbidity in bipolar disorder

Fire and Darkness: On the Assessment and Management of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is characterized by recurrent mood episodes, affecting 1% to 2% of the population. Although its defining features are manic and hypomanic episodes, its course is dominated by depressive syndromes. Diagnosis can be challenging owing to symptom overlap with other disorders. Management goals include early and complete remission of acute episodes and the prevention of relapse between episodes. We present an overview of bipolar disorder and its subtypes, including algorithms and suggestions for screening, assessment, and treatment.

Disentangling the Association between ADHD and Alcohol Use Disorder in Individuals Suffering from Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may influence rates of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) among individuals suffering from Bipolar Disorder (BD). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the strength and consistency of the potential association between ADHD and AUD in BD. We searched main electronic databases for studies indexed up to November 2020. We included observational studies investigating the association between ADHD and AUD among individuals with BD. The association between ADHD and AUD was estimated using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs). Eleven studies, involving 2734 individuals with BD (516 with ADHD), were included in the meta-analysis. Individuals with both BD and ADHD had higher rates of AUD as compared with subjects with BD only (34.0% vs. 18.3%). The estimated OR of AUD for ADHD was 2.50 (95% CI: 1.91 to 3.27; I2 = 13.0%). Study-level characteristics did not influence the effect size. No risk of publication bias was estimated. Despite some limitations, this meta-analysis estimated an association between ADHD and AUD among individuals suffering from BD. At least a portion of the high rates of AUD in BD may, thereby, be related to comorbid ADHD. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the nature of this relationship.

No group differences in Traditional Economics Measures of loss aversion and framing effects in bipolar I disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with impaired decision making, yet few studies have adopted paradigms from behavioral economics to decompose which, if any, aspects of decision making may be impacted. This may be particularly relevant for decision-making processes relevant to known difficulties with emotive dysfunction and corresponding reward dysregulation in BD. Participants with bipolar I disorder (BD; n = 44) and non-psychiatric healthy controls (CTL; n = 28) completed three well-validated behavioral economics decision making tasks via a remote-based survey, including loss aversion and framing effects, that examined sensitivity to probabilities and potential gains and losses in monetary and non-monetary domains. Consistent with past work, we found evidence of moderate loss aversion and framing effects across all participants. No group differences were found in any of the measures of loss aversion or framing effects. We report no group differences between bipolar and non-psychiatric groups with respect to loss aversion and framing effects using a remote-based survey approach. These results provide a framework future studies to explore similar tasks in clinical populations and suggest the context and degree to which decision making is altered in BD may be rooted in a more complex cognitive mechanism that warrants future research.

Quality of life and psychological symptoms for women with bipolar disorder - a comparison between reproductive, menopause transition and post-menopause phases

OBJECTIVE

The menopause transition may be associated with increased symptoms for women living with bipolar disorder; however, few have explored how this compares with other reproductive phases. The aim of this study was to compare women at reproductive, menopause transition and post-menopause phases on measures of quality of life and psychological symptoms associated with bipolar disorder.

STUDY DESIGN

Women with bipolar disorder took part in a large international survey conducted online and were categorised into reproductive stages using the STRAW and Monash criteria. The 498 participants were divided into three groups: 202 (41%) in the reproductive age group, 101 (20%) in the menopause transition group and 195 (39%) in the post-menopause group.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales - 21 (DASS-21), the Altman Mania Rating Scale (ASRM) and the Bipolar Disorder Quality of Life scale (BD-QoL).

RESULTS

BD-QoL scores were significantly lower in the menopause transition group than in the other groups and that group was more likely to report being constantly depressed over the past year than the other groups. Anxiety was significantly higher in the menopause transition and post-menopause groups compared with the reproductive age group.

CONCLUSIONS

Quality of life and depression are impacted by the menopause transition for women with bipolar disorder. However, anxiety may be a clinical issue for women in both the post-menopause and the menopause transition phases. Research is needed to determine how symptoms vary across the reproductive life cycle for women with bipolar disorder and if targeted treatments may assist.

Alcohol Consumption and Bipolar Disorder in a Colombian Population Sample

BACKGROUND

Bipolar disorder (BD) is reported to be the mental disorder with the highest rate of comorbidity with substance use disorders (SUD). More than half of patients with BD have been found to have disorders associated with alcohol use.

METHODS

A secondary analysis was performed in a population sample of Colombian adults. The aim was to identify bipolar-alcohol comorbidity and factors related to the use of alcohol in people with BD. The diagnosis of BD among participants was made with the "Composite International Diagnostic Interview" (CIDI-CAPI) and the pattern of alcohol consumption in the last year was evaluated with the AUDIT C screening tool.

RESULTS

It was found that all patients with BD had some type of problematic alcohol consumption pattern. Women with BD were at greater risk of having a dependence-type pattern, using nicotine and marijuana and, among those living in urban areas, had higher rates of suicidal ideation, although that risk was lower if they were in a stable relationship.

DISCUSSION

Some of the related factors we identified are new with respect to previous publications and others have already been described in similar studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the importance of such factors in the management of this population and their prognosis, these findings highlight the need to determine consumption patterns of alcohol and other substances in patients with BD.

Measuring the consequences of a bipolar or unipolar mood disorder and the immediate and ongoing impacts

Mood disorders may lead to major life consequences. This study builds on our preliminary examination of the impact of an extensive set of consequences and was undertaken in a larger clinical sample. Two hundred and forty four adults diagnosed with either unipolar depressive disorder or a bipolar disorder (type I or II) were administered an online survey of 60 items, listing potential consequences of having a mood disorder. Participants estimated the degree of impact (0-100) of each consequence on their life initially, and in the longer term. Items loading highly on the first 'general' factor of a bi-factor analysis were examined. Most items were affirmed by at least 75% of the sample. Significant group differences emerged on ten items. The bipolar group was 1.44-2.27 times more likely to experience difficulty with debts, education, speeding fines, increased risk of harm and delayed family planning. The unipolar group was 1.11-1.67 times more likely to experience social withdrawal, lowered life satisfaction, decreased overall wellbeing and ambition, and missed opportunities. Only one positive consequence (i.e. increased empathy) was identified. This extensive range of mood disorder consequences was highly endorsed by both BP and UP patients and with substantial immediate and ongoing impacts reported.