Patients with bipolar disorder type I (BD-I) who consume alcohol, experience stronger than average negative effects from this consumption, as it leads to lower adherence to treatment and increased...Show morePatients with bipolar disorder type I (BD-I) who consume alcohol, experience stronger than average negative effects from this consumption, as it leads to lower adherence to treatment and increased suicide attempts. Independently, excessive alcohol consumption is associated with lower reward anticipation, which is a mechanism that helps making decisions that minimize harm. Using the concept of reward anticipation, this observational and crosssectional study, aimed to understand the relation between BD-I and alcohol consumption. Understanding this relation could eventually help improve treatment of alcohol related problems among BD-I patients. First is hypothesized that BD-I diagnosis is related to more alcohol consumption, second that lower reward anticipation is related to more alcohol consumption, and third that lower reward anticipation is stronger related to more alcohol consumption in BD-I patients than control participants. Reward anticipation was studied both objectively, with a Monetary Incentive Delay Task (MID), and subjectively, with the Positive Valence Systems Scale (PVSS-21). This created an opportunity to include a fourth hypothesis that the MID and the PVSS-21 are correlated. In collaboration with the Erasmus MC, participants completed online surveys and games to measure reward anticipation and alcohol consumption. The participants included 35 BD-I patients (20 female, Mage = 55.94, SDage = 11.17) and 15 control participants (6 female, Mage = 49.08, SDage = 13.35). First, no relation between BD-I diagnosis and alcohol consumption (OR = .87, 95%CI [.21, 3.59]) was found. Second, no relation between reward anticipation (ORMID = 1.20, 95%CI [.91, 1.57]; ORPVSS = 1.01, 95%CI [.97, 1.05]) and alcohol consumption was found. Third, no stronger relation between reward anticipation (ORMID = 1.20, 95%CI [.88, 1.63]; ORPVSS = 1.00, 95%CI [.99, 1.01]) and alcohol consumption for BD-I patients was found. Fourth, no correlation between scores MID and the PVSS-21 was found (r (50) = .18, p = .21). The results, conflicting with previous research, are likely influenced by the small amount of alcohol consumed by the participants. Making it difficult to make conclusions about the relation between BD-I diagnosis, reward anticipation and alcohol consumption. Further research is recommended with a larger group of participants with more age distribution.Show less
Background Worldwide, problem drinking is a leading risk factor for disease burden and mortality. To reduce this burden, effective interventions are required. Mobile phone-based alcohol...Show moreBackground Worldwide, problem drinking is a leading risk factor for disease burden and mortality. To reduce this burden, effective interventions are required. Mobile phone-based alcohol interventions show promise due to their ease of use and scalability. However, there is limited knowledge regarding their overall effectiveness. As it is a rapidly developing field, this meta-analysis captures the current state of evidence. Mobile phone-based alcohol interventions are expected to be more effective than control groups with minimal or no intervention. Methods A systematic literature search and meta-analysis were conducted following PRISMA guidelines. In April 2022 the databases PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched to identify eligible studies. The search focused on publications between 2010 and 2022, without language restrictions. Randomised controlled trials comparing mobile phone-based interventions with minimal or no intervention control conditions were included. Studies with interventions tailored to students and pregnant women were excluded. Outcome data were extracted and the pooled effect size was calculated with a random effects model. Risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and quality of evidence with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Results Five studies with 1672 participants were included and revealed a combined small effect size (Hedges’ g = -0.28, 95% CI [-0.76, 0.21]), which was insignificant (p = .19). Intervention duration and mode of delivery did not have a significant moderating effect on the outcome. Between-study heterogeneity was high and influence analyses revealed one study potentially overly contributing to the heterogeneity. There was no evidence of publication bias. Risk of bias was considered to be high for each study and the overall quality of evidence was judged to be low. Conclusion The current study found no support for the efficacy of mobile phone-based alcohol intervention compared to minimal or no intervention control groups to reduce adult problem drinking. These results should be interpreted cautiously due to the small number of studies and concerns regarding the quality of evidence. Future researchers should consider using a standard set of outcome measures to make findings in this area more comparable.Show less
Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is considered a complex disease and certain lifestyle factors such as alcohol use, exercise and stress could perhaps influence the severity of the illness. The...Show moreBackground: Bipolar disorder (BD) is considered a complex disease and certain lifestyle factors such as alcohol use, exercise and stress could perhaps influence the severity of the illness. The effect of alcohol on mood seems to still be unclear. Also, exercise seems to decrease depressive symptoms, but it seems unclear whether or not it is also beneficial for manic symptoms. Further, stress may be another factor that influence individuals’ decision in engaging in certain lifestyles which in turn may impact mood. This current study aimed to investigate the relationship between these lifestyle factors and bipolar mood. Method: Participants (N=58) age range between 19-61 year-old of which 37 were female and 21 were male who participated in the Bipolar Netherlands Cohort (BINCO), a longitudinal study of patients who have recently been diagnosed with BD. At baseline and at the 6 months follow up, the amount of alcohol consumption, exercise and stress were assessed, as well as manic symptoms (YMRS) and depressive symptoms (QIDS). Results: Alcohol consumption and exercise showed no significant associations with bipolar mood both at baseline and at the follow-up. However, exercise was found to show significant quadratic association with manic symptoms at the baseline. This result added useful information regarding the effect of exercise and its influence on manic mood in patients with BD. Also, stress was found to show no moderating effect between alcohol consumption and mood nor exercise and mood in BD. Conclusion: This study added interesting findings regarding the effect of alcohol consumption, exercise and stress on the severity of bipolar mood. This information could give a better understanding of how lifestyle factors could perhaps influence BD.Show less
Previous research found that personality and chronotype both are significant predictors of alcohol consumption. This study examined the personality type neuroticism and the evening chronotype as...Show morePrevious research found that personality and chronotype both are significant predictors of alcohol consumption. This study examined the personality type neuroticism and the evening chronotype as possible correlates of increased alcohol consumption. Additionally, we aimed to find a moderating effect of eveningness in the relationship between neuroticism and alcohol consumption. The Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) included 2,981 participants between the ages of 18 and 65 and a total of more than eight questionnaires, from which we used the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Results showed a significant association between eveningness and alcohol consumption. The predicted moderation effect of eveningness was not found. The findings of this study may give a better understanding of possible risk factors for increased alcohol consumption, by verifying the predicted association between eveningness and increased alcohol consumption. Future research may however look further into the working mechanisms of eveningness with respect to the susceptibility of increased alcohol consumption.Show less
