Quality of life for patients with bipolar disorder: relationship with clinical and demographic variables

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life in bipolar disorder patients, and to analyze a set of clinical variables and sociodemographic data that could act as quality-of-life predictors. The study sample included 50 euthymic outpatients attending a specific bipolar patient unit. Patients were assessed with the Clinician-Administered Rating Scale for Mania, and the Hamilton Scale for Depression. To evaluate quality of life, all patients received the Spanish version of the SF-36 Health Survey. At the same time, sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained. The scores were compared with those of a control group representative of the general population. The group of bipolar patients obtained statistically significantly lower scores on all the subscales when compared with the control population. No statistically significant differences appeared when comparing the SF-36 scores with the demographic variables. Bipolar patients experience lower functioning and well-being even in the stable phase of the disorder. Due to the great impact of bipolar disorder on many areas, it would be of interest to know the clinical predictors related to patient quality of life, as this would contribute to the design of different clinical interventions.