The correlates of community functioning in patients with bipolar disorder.
BACKGROUND
Although bipolar disorder is associated with substantial levels of disability, efforts to investigate the correlates of impairment have been meagre.


METHODS
Sixty-one euthymic patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder were administered a variety of quality of life measures, including a measure of community functioning entitled the Occupational Performance Questionnaire (OPQ). This measure included a Community Functioning Scale (CFS) that provides a rating of adaptive level of functioning that was compared with other clinical and functional indices.


RESULTS
The OPQ was found responsive to the assessment of community functioning among euthymic patients, as about one third of the patients did not meet the criteria for adequate level of community functioning. Moreover, a positive history for alcoholism or alcohol abuse and reported current levels of high anxiety were associated with the impairment in community functioning.


CONCLUSIONS
This study relied on self-report data derived from a measure of community functioning developed specifically for this study.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the preliminary nature of these findings, further investigation of the functional impairments associated with bipolar disorder is needed.
Kusznir
A
A
Mood and Anxiety Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Clarke Division 250 College Street, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Toronto, Canada.
Cooke
R G
RG
Young
L T
LT
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome