Occupational status and social adjustment six months after hospitalization early in the course of bipolar disorder: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVES

Bipolar disorder is often accompanied by poor functional outcomes, the determinants of which are not fully understood. We assessed patients with bipolar disorder undergoing a hospital admission early in the illness course and identified predictors of occupational status, overall social adjustment, and work adjustment six months later.

METHODS

This was a prospective longitudinal cohort study. During hospitalization patients were evaluated with a cognitive battery; symptoms, occupational history, and other clinical factors were also assessed. At six-month follow-up, patients' symptom remission status was assessed; they were also evaluated as to their occupational status, overall social adjustment, and work adjustment. Multivariate analyses were used to identify predictors of these outcomes.

RESULTS

Among the 52 participants, the average rating of overall social adjustment at follow-up was between mild and moderate maladjustment. While 51 had a history of working full time, only 28 (54%) worked full time at follow-up. A total of 24 (46%) had symptoms that met criteria for a full depression or mania syndrome. In multivariate analyses, full-time occupational status at follow-up was predicted by the absence of baseline substance abuse. Better overall social adjustment was predicted by better performance on cognitive tasks of processing speed and by symptom remission; the latter variable also predicted work adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS

Persons with bipolar disorder have limited occupational recovery and overall social adjustment six months after a hospital admission early in the illness course. Predictors vary among outcomes; performance on tasks of processing speed and the extent of symptom remission are independently associated with functional outcomes.