Disability in Patients With Bipolar Disorder in Full or Partial Remission: A Cross-Sectional Study

To evaluate the level of disability and identify an association between sociodemographic and clinical variables and disability in patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care general hospital psychiatric unit with 100 patients with BD in partial or full remission (DSM-IV-TR criteria) from January 2017 to March 2018. Patients were assessed using a semistructured proforma, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0-Hindi version, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) or the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), and the Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS).

All patients with BD had at least mild disability. The mean ± SD IDEAS global score was 5.1 ± 2.59. Of the sample, 66% and 34% had mild or moderate, disability, respectively. The global score of disability was associated with the number of episodes, number of manic episodes, frequency of episodes in the past year, YMRS and HDRS scores, partial remission, and hospitalization. Categories of disability were associated with the type of last episode, type of remission, and treatment setting.

Patients with BD had at least a mild level of disability even during remission. Disability worsened with the increasing number, frequency, and severity of episodes; number of manic episodes; partial remission; and hospitalization.