The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 189: 254-259. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.017269
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Cognitive impairment in bipolar II disorder

Carla Torrent, PhD, Anabel Martínez-Arán, PhD and Claire Daban, PhD

Bipolar Disorder Programme, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, University Hospital Clinic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona

Jose Sánchez-Moreno

Bipolar Disorder Programme, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, University Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Barcelona and Psychiatry Department, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

Mercè Comes, PsN, José Manuel Goikolea, MD, Manel Salamero, MD, PhD and Eduard Vieta, MD, PhD

Bipolar Disorder Programme, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, University Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain

Correspondence: Dr Eduard Vieta, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, University Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. Tel: +34 93 2275401; fax: +34932275477; email: evieta{at}clinic.ub.es

Declaration of interest None.

Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Persistentimpairments in neurocognitive function have been described in bipolar disorder.

Aims To compare the cognitive performance of patients with bipolar II disorder with that of patients with bipolar I disorder and a healthy control group.

Method The study included 71 euthymic patients with bipolar disorder (38 bipolar I, 33 bipolar II), who were compared on clinical and neuropsychological variables (e.g. executive function, attention, verbal and visual memory) and contrasted with 35 healthy controls on cognitive performance.

Results Compared with controls, both bipolar groups showed significant deficits in most cognitive tasks including working memory (DigitSpan Backwards, P=0.002) and attention (DigitSpan Forwards, P=0.005; Trail Making Test, P=0.001). Those with type II disorders had an intermediate level of performance between the bipolar I group and the control group in verbal memory (P<0.005) and executive functions (Stroop interference task, P=0.020).

Conclusions Cognitive impairment exists in both subtypes of bipolar disorder, although more so in the bipolar I group. The best predictors of poor psychosocial functioning in bipolar II disorder were subclinical depressive symptoms, early onset of illness and poor performance on a measure related to executive function.


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