Metabolic Syndrome in Patients with Bipolar Disorder Treated with Atypical Antipsychotics, their First-degree Relatives and Control Group

Physical fitness in patients with bipolar disorder compared with a population-based sample

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate physical fitness and body composition in a sample including hospitalized patients with bipolar disorder and to compare them with a population-based sample.

METHODS

In this comparative observational study, 40 bipolar patients and 40 healthy subjects in Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in 2019 were assessed. The physical fitness items such as body mass index (BMI), body fat, push-up test, curl-up test, VO2 peak, and sit and reach test were compared across the groups. Young Mania Rating Scale for assessing the severity of bipolar disease and WHODAS2.0 for the estimation of global performance were done in the case group.

RESULTS

The results of this study demonstrate that sit and reach test, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percent were similar across the studied groups. The push-up test, curl-up test, and VO2 peak (P = .001) were significantly lower in the case group. In the case group, only the push-up test was associated with the severity of bipolar disorder and decreased performance.

CONCLUSION

Lower push-up and curl-up can indicate an increase in both back and neck pains in these patients. Low VO2 peak in these patients increases the risk of heart disease and mortality rates in bipolar patients. The push-up test can be used as a screen test to estimate the severity of the bipolar disorder.

Risk of cardiometabolic diseases among siblings of patients with bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND

Cardiometabolic diseases are suggested to be associated with bipolar disorder. However, the risk of metabolic disorders in unaffected siblings of patients with bipolar disorder remains unclear.

METHODS

From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 7,225 unaffected siblings of bipolar probands and 28,900 age-/sex-/income-/residence-matched control individuals were included and followed until the end of 2011. Individuals who developed metabolic disorders during the follow-up period were identified.

RESULTS

The unaffected siblings of bipolar probands had a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia (5.4% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.001), younger age at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (34.81 vs. 37.22, p = 0.024), and higher prevalence of any stroke (1.5% vs. 1.1%, p = 0.007) than the controls. Moreover, only male siblings of bipolar probands had an increased risk of dyslipidemia (odds ratio [OR]: 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-1.48) and higher rates of any stroke (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.02-1.85) and ischemic stroke (OR: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.60-3.70) during the follow-up compared with the controls.

DISCUSSION

Unaffected siblings of bipolar patients, particularly brothers, had a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia and ischemic stroke compared with the controls. The result suggests the familial association between cardiometabolic diseases and bipolar disorder. Further research may be necessary to identify this shared etiology between the disorders.

Cardiovascular risk remains high in schizophrenia with modest improvements in bipolar disorder during past decade

OBJECTIVE

While CVD risk has decreased in the general population during the last decade, the situation in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) is unknown.

METHODS

We compared CVD risk factors in patients with SCZ and BD recruited from 2002-2005 (2005 sample, N = 270) with patients recruited from 2006-2017 (2017 sample, N = 1011) from the same catchment area in Norway. The 2017 sample was also compared with healthy controls (N = 922) and the general population (N range = 1285-4587, Statistics Norway) from the same area and period.

RESULTS

Patients with SCZ and BD in the 2017 sample had significantly higher level of most CVD risk factors compared to healthy controls and the general population. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of CVD risk factors in SCZ between the 2005 and 2017 samples except a small increase in glucose in the 2017 sample. There were small-to-moderate reductions in hypertension, obesity, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the BD 2017 sample compared to the 2005 sample.

CONCLUSION

Despite major advances in health promotion during the past decade, there has been no reduction in the level of CVD risk factors in patients with SCZ and modest improvement in BD.