Executive function performance in high and low medication adherent patients with euthymic bipolar i disorder: a
Mona Rahimi Chahooei1, Komeil Zahedi Tajrishi2, Ghazaleh Zargarinejad1
1Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health (Tehran Institute of Psychiatric), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Hemat Highway next to Milad Tower, Tehran, Iran.
BMC Psychiatry
|March 14, 2025
Summary
Medication nonadherence in bipolar I disorder is linked to executive dysfunction, particularly in response inhibition and cognitive flexibility. These findings highlight the importance of assessing cognitive function to improve treatment adherence.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Medication nonadherence is a significant challenge in managing bipolar disorder.
- Cognitive deficits, especially executive dysfunction, are common in bipolar disorder patients.
- The precise link between executive functions and medication adherence in bipolar disorder remains under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between executive functions and medication adherence in euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder.
- To identify specific executive function deficits related to nonadherence.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 200 euthymic bipolar I disorder patients (aged 18-55).
- Assessment of medication adherence using the Medication Adherence Rating Scale.
- Evaluation of executive functions through Go/No-Go, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Iowa Gambling Task.
- Multivariate analysis of covariance was used for data analysis.
Main Results:
- 54.5% of patients exhibited low medication adherence.
- Low adherent patients showed significantly poorer performance in response inhibition (Go/No-Go) and cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test).
- No statistically significant differences in decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task) were found between adherence groups.
Conclusions:
- Low medication adherence in bipolar I disorder is correlated with deficits in executive functions, specifically response inhibition and cognitive flexibility.
- These executive function differences persist even after controlling for demographic and clinical variables.
- Targeting executive function deficits may offer a novel approach to enhance medication adherence in bipolar disorder management.
Keywords:
Bipolar disorderCognitive functionsExecutive functionMedication adherenceTreatment complianceMore Related Videos
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