title: The effect of comorbid anxiety disorder on neuropsychological function in bipolar II disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bipolar disorder (BP) is often comorbid with anxiety disorder (ANX), especially in bipolar II disorder (BP-II). BP patients with comorbid ANX often manifest intensified symptoms and harmful dysfunctions. However, most studies have focused on bipolar I disorder (BP-I); few have investigated the effect of comorbid ANX on the neuropsychological function of BP-II patients. We examined neuropsychological functions in BP-II patients with and without comorbid ANX.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-nine participants were recruited: 20 patients with interepisode (symptom-free) BP-II without comorbid ANX, 20 with interepisode BP-II with comorbid ANX, and 19 healthy controls. All participants were screened using the Chinese version of the Modified Schedule of Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia-Lifetime (SADS-L). Individuals comorbid with major or minor mental illness other than BP-II were excluded. Comparisons were made between the three groups using neuropsychological tests to assess memory, attention, psychomotor speed, and frontal executive function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BP-II patients with comorbid ANX showed poorer neuropsychological functions than those in the BP-II-only and control groups. Additionally, BP-II-only patients and controls showed equal cognitive performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because BP-II patients with comorbid ANX had the lowest scores in the majority of neuropsychological functional tests, we conclude that they have greater cognitive impairments than do BP-II patients without comorbid ANX. Neuropsychological dysfunctions seemed more strongly associated with ANX than with BP-II in interepisode periods. Identifying and managing ANX comorbidity is critical when treating BP-II patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yun-Hsuan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chun-Chieh
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Jo Yung-Wei
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shiou-Lan
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chun-Hsien
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: I Hui
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tzung Lieh
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Nian-Sheng
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Tzeng
authors.forename: San-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yen Kuang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ru-Band
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests