Subsyndromal mood symptoms, cognition, and psychosocial functioning in euthymic bipolar patients

Abstract

The influence of subsyndromal mood symptoms (SSMS) on cognition and psychosocial functioning of euthymic bipolar patients remains unclear. Viewpoints vary from minor to major influence of SSMS, but seem to be dependent on the methodological choices of the respective researchers. The present study evaluates the relationship between SSMS and cognitive or psychosocial functioning. 16 euthymic patients with bipolar (I: n= 10; II: n= 6) disorder according to DSM-IV criteria were included. SSMS were measured using the MOODS-SR. Cognitive functioning was measured using STROOP, Trail Making Task, WMS-R visual memory subtests, CVLT, WCST, BADS, NART, amongst others. Psychosocial functioning was determined using the GVSG-45, and the Rand-36. Number of bipolar mood symptoms significantly predicted psychosocial functioning. Post-hoc analyses revealed this effect was greatest for the number of depressive symptoms. To our surprise, cognitive functioning had no significant relation to number of mood symptoms or psychosocial functioning. Although the study has several limitations, our results may imply careful detection of subsyndromal depressive mood symptoms in recovered bipolar patients, as these symptoms may typically be responsible for lowered psychosocial functioning and well-being.