title: A five-year follow-up study of neurocognitive functioning in bipolar disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder has been well-established in cross-sectional studies; however, there are few data regarding the longitudinal course of cognitive performance in bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to examine the course of cognitive function in a sample of euthymic patients with bipolar disorder during a five-year follow-up period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty euthymic outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar disorder and 40 healthy control comparison subjects were neuropsychologically assessed at baseline (T1) and then at follow-up of five years (T2). A neurocognitive battery including the main cognitive domains of speed of processing, working memory, attention, verbal memory, visual memory, and executive function was used to evaluate cognitive performance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Repeated-measures multivariate analyses showed that progression of cognitive dysfunction in patients was not different to that of control subjects in any of the six cognitive domains examined. Only a measure from the verbal memory domain, delayed free recall, worsened more in patients with bipolar disorder. Additionally, it was found that clinical course during the follow-up period did not influence the course of cognitive dysfunction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cognitive dysfunction that is characteristic of bipolar disorder is persistent and stable over time. Only dysfunction in verbal recall was found to show a progressive course that cannot be explained by clinical or treatment variables.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Virgen de la Luz, Cuenca, Spain.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagney
authors.forename: Eva María
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Morla
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Jiménez
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mateo
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Arriero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D018692:Antimanic Agents; D018021:Lithium Chloride
keywords: bipolar disorder; cognition; follow-up