The relationship between perceived stress and the course of bipolar disorder in adults recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder type I or II

Background: Bipolar disorder is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent mood episodes alternated with periods of remission. Major life events appear to have an important role in the course of the disorder. However, little is known about the influence of daily perceived stress. In the few studies that did focus on this, a positive association has been found between perceived stress and depression severity and number of mood episodes. Aim: To investigate whether perceived stress is associated with the course of bipolar disorder in patients recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder type I or II. Methods: Data was obtained from the longitudinal naturalistic Bipolar Netherlands Cohort (BINCO) Study (N = 64). Measurements included the Quick Inventory Depressive Symptomatology, Young Mania Rating Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and the WHO-Composite International Diagnostic Interview- Bipolar Disorder. Analyses included linear regression analyses and ANOVA’s. Results: The...Show moreBackground: Bipolar disorder is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent mood episodes alternated with periods of remission. Major life events appear to have an important role in the course of the disorder. However, little is known about the influence of daily perceived stress. In the few studies that did focus on this, a positive association has been found between perceived stress and depression severity and number of mood episodes. Aim: To investigate whether perceived stress is associated with the course of bipolar disorder in patients recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder type I or II. Methods: Data was obtained from the longitudinal naturalistic Bipolar Netherlands Cohort (BINCO) Study (N = 64). Measurements included the Quick Inventory Depressive Symptomatology, Young Mania Rating Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and the WHO-Composite International Diagnostic Interview- Bipolar Disorder. Analyses included linear regression analyses and ANOVA’s. Results: The amount of perceived stress at baseline was found to be associated with an increase in depression severity at baseline. However, perceived stress was not found to be associated with the severity nor the number of episodes of depression or mania six months after baseline. Conclusions: The study’s findings could imply the effectiveness of stress-management in treating patients with bipolar disorder. Future research should be done using a bigger sample, to make results more generalizable. Also, more research may clarify the difference between perceived stress and life events, and the role of the kindling hypothesis.Show less

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The relationship between perceived stress and the course of bipolar disorder in adults recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder type I or II