THE ABILITY TO PERFORM ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AMONG PERSONS WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER

Background: A large proportion of persons with bipolar disorder (BD) experience cognitive impairments and activity limitations even when in remission (1). While most research concerning functioning has focused on cognitive... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
A large proportion of persons with bipolar disorder (BD) experience cognitive impairments and activity limitations even when in remission (1). While most research concerning functioning has focused on cognitive impairments, the aim of this study is to describe the ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL) among persons with BD reporting cognitive impairments and compare their ADL ability to healthy persons of similar age.
Method:
Participants (n = 43) with BD (based on ICD-10 diagnostic criteria), aged 18-60 years, in full remission defined by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores ≤ 7 and with complaints of subjective cognitive difficulties of moderate to severe degree by scores ≥ 13 on the Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder Rating Assessment (COBRA) questionnaire. The ADL ability was assessed with Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS).
Results and conclusion:
The preliminary results indicate that participants have an ADL motor and ADL process ability similar to healthy persons at the same age, although many were below the mean. This is most pronounced for the ADL process ability.
Application to Practice:
More knowledge about the ADL ability among persons with BD could be useful when developing intervention program aiming to improve functioning.

References:
Bonnin, C. M., et al. (2010). Clinical and neurocognitive predictors of functional outcome in bipolar euthymic patients: A long-term, follow-up study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 121(1-2), 156-160.


Financial support by Lundbeck Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.