Quality of life for patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder: Lifestyle and treatment

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough bipolar disorder (BP) is associated with impaired quality of life (QOL), little is known about the clinical features associated with QOL. Better knowledge about this relationship may improve treatment. MethodsThis cross-sectional and retrospective study of 160 bipolar outpatients is part of an extensive study battery that includes patient-rated QOL with the World Health Organization QOL-100. The subscale “overall QOL” was used for analysis. QOL was divided into subgroups denoted “low”, “mid”, and “high”. Clinical data such as disease-specific factors, treatment efforts, and lifestyle were gathered from personal interviews and medical records. ResultsCompared to mid QOL, single analysis adjusted for age and sex revealed that low QOL was associated with BP II diagnosis, no previous hospitalization, low grade of current lithium medication, high grade of current antiepileptic medication, short disease duration with lithium, long disease duration without lithium, inactive lifestyle, high BMI, young age, and pre-menopausal women. Compared to mid QOL, high QOL was associated with a hypomanic/manic first affective episode, low BMI, non-smoker, and not currently using anxiolytic or sedatives. LimitationsNo longitudinal QOL data were collected. ConclusionsQOL for bipolar patients is determined by serval factors that potentially could be altered. To improve QOL, lithium prophylaxis and lifestyle factors seem the most promising.