Is there a relationship between physical activity and residual mood symptoms in patients with bipolar I disorder?

Abstract

IntroductionPhysical activity (PA) has become increasingly recognized worldwide as a potentially effective strategy in the treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). However, the disease characteristics associated with PA in this population are still unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the features of BD that are associated with PA in outpatients with bipolar disorder type I (BD-I). MethodsThis cross-sectional study evaluated a convenience sample of 171 outpatients with BD-I in the euthymic state. The instruments administered were a questionnaire to assess socio-demographic and clinical variables, including PA, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I and II Disorders (SCID-I and SCID-II), the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) and the Young Mania Rating Scale. ResultsIn our sample, 122 (71.35%) patients were physically inactive. We found an association between physical inactivity and residual depressive symptoms (RDS), with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.293 (CI: 1.15–4.56) and p = 0.018. In multivariate analysis, after adjusting for the other variables, the association between physical inactivity and RDS remained significant, with an OR of 3.205 (CI: 1.354–7.585) and p = 0.008. ConclusionsThe majority of our patients were physically inactive and presented residual mood symptoms (RMoS), mainly depressive. This is the first study to demonstrate association between the presence of RDS and physical inactivity in euthymic BD-I outpatients. Knowing the prevalence of all RMoS contributes to the definition of better strategies for therapeutic interventions in euthymic patients.