[Profile of bipolar disorder outpatients: a cross-sectional study in the Madrid Community]

The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to obtain a sociodemographic, clinical, psychosocial functioning and therapeutic profile of bipolar outpatients in the Madrid Community.

A total of 115 outpatients were consecutively recruited by 10 psychiatrists.

Mean time between initial symptoms and an accurate bipolar diagnosis was of 7.6 years. A depressive episode was the onset of the illness in most patients independently of clinical subtype. Syndromal or subsyndromal symptoms were present in 47% of the patient population, dominating the depressive polarity (33.1%). A subjectively reduced perception of quality of life was associated to the presence of depressive symptoms and a worse clinical outcome last year. More than half of the patients (58.2%) were overweight or obese. Lithium was the most frequently used mood stabilizer (71.3%), whereas 41% of the patients were taking at least three psychotropic drugs.

Results of this study widely confirm previous data on bipolar disorder. Reduction in quality of life of bipolar patients associated to depressive symptoms must be highlighted. It is necessary to optimize treatments in bipolar disorder in order to improve prognosis.