Chapter 13
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Quality of life impairment in bipolar disorder Erin E Michalak1, Greg Murray2, Allan H Young1 and Raymond W Lam1
1Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia
2Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology
This chapter will present an overview of what is currently known about quality of life
(QoL) in bipolar disorder (BD). While there is growing consensus that the QoL concept
provides an important counterpoint to the objective symptom measures that dominate
psychiatry, the implications of this position are yet to be systematically addressed in the
BD field. The literature reviewed in this chapter is not informed by any model or theory
of QoL as it applies to BD. The data presented are largely empirical in the negative sense
of this term, drawn from studies making different assumptions, addressing different
questions in BD. In many cases, the measurement of QoL has been incidental to the
major thrust of the research design. Indeed, even at the empirical level there is a lack of
agreement about the best measure of QoL in this population, and no disorder-specific
In this context, the present chapter aims to capture the range of applications of the QoL
concept in BD, and highlight any reliable findings. To structure the presentation, it is
useful to categorize data into three general areas: studies that have looked at QoL
impairment in BD compared with non-clinical and other diagnostic groups, studies that
have looked at QoL differences across the states of BD and studies that have looked at
QoL changes as an outcome of treatment. We will briefly set the scene for these three
investigations by presenting the findings of four manuscripts that have reviewed research
The final section of this chapter will make some recommendations about future QoL
research in BD, highlighting the need for work at both the theoretical and measurement
levels. At the theoretical level, the implications of the vulnerability model of health-
related QoL (HRQOL) (e.g., Ritsner, Chapter 1 of this collection) will be briefly
reviewed. At the measurement level, we will present some data on the ongoing
development of a patient-centred disorder-specific QoL measure for BD.
Key words: bipolar disorder, quality of life, functioning.
Bipolar disorder is a highly complex and heterogeneous psychiatric condition that is
characterised by both a variety of symptoms and marked variability in course. For
example, a patient with BD can experience episodes of depression, hypomania, mania, or
psychosis, and indeed, can experience a mixture of emotional states, or cycle rapidly
between them. Marked variability exists between patients in terms of the length, number
and type of episodes, severity and type of symptoms, and the degree of interepisode
recovery experienced. Overall, however, patients with BD appear to spend more time in
episodes of depression than mania or hypomania1;2, and unsurprisingly, the condition is
associated with marked disability. In the year 2000, the World Health Organization
estimated that BD was the 6th leading cause of disability worldwide amongst young
adults (i.e., 15 44 years of age)3. A woman who develops BD at the age of 25 may lose
9 years in life expectancy (due to cardiovascular and other medical problems), 14 years
of productivity, and 12 years of normal health4. While the condition obviously has
considerable ramifications at an individual level, it also has a significant impact at a
societal level. Bipolar disorder is estimated to affect at least 1% of individuals
worldwide5, making it a serious public health concern. The broader category of bipolar
spectrum disorders (encompassing, for example, BD type II, which is characterised by
episodes of depression and hypomania) has been less extensively studied, but is likely to
be more prevalent, affecting up to 8% of the population6. In one widely cited study, the
direct and indirect costs associated with BD were estimated to be $45 billion in the
United States during 1991, of which only $7 billion was due to actual treatment costs7.
Lost productivity within salaried employees and homemakers, however, accounted for
Patient outcome in BD has traditionally been determined by the assessment of objectively
measured clinical information, such as rates of relapse, the number of times a patient is
hospitalised or clinician-rated symptom reduction. In recent years, however, we have
seen a shift towards the concomitant assessment of more subjective, patient-centered
measures of well-being such as functioning and QoL. As leading researchers Colom and
Vieta (2004)8 have stated: “A very important change of paradigm in the treatment of bipolar disorders started a few years ago, when crucial findings on the impact of bipolar disorders on quality of life and social, cognitive and occupational functioning suggested that therapy targets should be changed from symptomatic recovery to functional recovery”. Whilst this statement is laudable, we would go one step further to suggest
that restoration of QoL (which encompasses more than restoration of functioning per se)
should be a primary goal for treatment, over and above minimizing the symptomatic
An overview of QoL research in BD
Compared with the study of QoL in unipolar depression, research into QoL in BD has
been sparse. To our knowledge, four systematic reviews of previous research in this area
have been conducted 9-12. In the first of these, Namjoshi and colleagues (1999)9 assessed
all relevant English-language articles published prior to 1999, identifying 10 studies for
inclusion. The studies proved to be quite heterogeneous, and used a wide variety of
instruments to assess HRQOL. They also tended to be relatively small, most often
conducted in depressed or euthymic (rather than hypo/manic) patients, and rarely
included descriptions of the psychometric properties of the instruments they utilized. The
authors of the review made a number of suggestions for future research, including the
need for the development of a disorder-specific measure of QoL for BD, more
assessments in manic patients, and more longitudinal research.
The second review, conducted by Dean and colleagues (2004)10 examined studies
published prior to November 2002 that had assessed HRQOL, work-impairment or
healthcare costs and utilization in patients with BD. This review applied a very broad
definition of HRQOL, including studies that had assessed social or physical functioning
in isolation (for example, the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale was
considered a measure of HRQOL). Using this broad definition, the review identified 65
HRQOL articles. The authors concluded, (i) that the HRQOL of patients with BD is
similar to that of patients with unipolar depression and equal or lower than that observed
in patients with chronic medical conditions and, (ii) that treatment interventions for BD
have been shown to have a beneficial impact on HRQOL. The third review, conducted
by Revicki and colleagues (2005)11 focused on pre-2003 studies measuring HRQOL
outcomes of BD treatment and the burden of BD on HRQOL. The authors identified just
three clinical trials that had included HRQOL assessments. On the basis of this initial
data, they concluded that treatment interventions for BD improve HRQOL, but that there
is limited evidence for differences between the mood stabilizers in terms of HRQOL
outcomes, and “that the time may be ripe for developing disorder-specific HR-QOL
instruments for use in clinical trials” (pg. 592).
In the most recent of this series of reviews12, we searched for studies published prior to
November 2004 which had examined QoL in BD. This search, which applied slightly
more stringent inclusion criteria than some of the earlier reviews, identified 28 studies in
total, 7 (25%) of which were published before 1999. The remaining 21 (75%) were
published between 2000 and 2004, underscoring the developing interest in this field of
research. The studies we identified formed a heterogeneous set. Several undertook to
assess QoL during different phases of the disorder, for example, cross-sectional research
that compared perceived QoL in euthymic, manic or depressed patients with BD. Other
studies compared the QoL of patients with BD to that of other patient populations, both
with other psychiatric disorders and with chronic physical conditions. Another area of
research examined the psychometric properties of a few HRQOL instruments in BD
populations. Finally, we identified a small number of studies that had used a QoL
instrument to assess outcome in trials of treatment inventions (mostly pharmacological)
for the condition. The studies were also of variable scientific quality. Methodological
shortcomings included small sample sizes, cross-sectional designs, idiosyncratic
diagnostic methods or poorly differentiated diagnostic groups, use of poorly validated
QoL instruments and lack of control for chronicity of illness or the number of previous
episodes experienced by the individual. However, the overall scientific quality of the
research in this field does appear to be improving. Of the 10 studies identified in the
review by Namjoshi and colleagues, only one had a sample size of greater than 100. In
comparison, we identified eleven studies that had enrolled more than 100 patients, and it
was particularly encouraging to see that some of the large pharmacological trials of
treatment interventions for BD are now using QoL measures as secondary outcome
The preceding section provides an outline of existing literature on QoL in BD via
synopsis of four review studies. As a group, these reviews serve to highlight the
significant gaps and deficits in this body of literature. In particular, there appear to be
widely held concerns about the valid measurement of QoL in patients with BD, with
several reviewers calling for the development of a disorder-specific QoL instrument for
this patient population. In the following sections, we will describe this body of literature
in more detail, clustering the studies into three subgroups: i) degree of QoL in patients
with BD; ii) QoL across mood states within BD; and, iii) QoL as an outcome measure in
Several studies have attempted to ascertain the degree of impairment in QoL experienced
by patients with BD. Unsurprisingly, QoL in bipolar populations appears to fall far
below that observed in general population samples, at least in the realms of emotional or
psychosocial well-being. For example, one study utilizing the MOS SF-3613, to date the
most widely used HRQOL measure in this patient population, compared scores between
patients with BD (N=44) with previously reported norms for a general population sample
(N=2,474)14. The SF-36 contains eight sub-scales assessing physical functioning, social
functioning, role limitations (physical), role limitations (emotional), pain, mental health,
general health and vitality. These yield an overall domain score on a 0-100 scale, where 0
represents worst possible health and 100 best possible health. The results of the study
indicated that, compared with the general population, HRQOL was significantly
compromised in patients with BD in all SF-36 domains except physical functioning.
While the study provided a useful initial comparison, its findings should be interpreted
with some caution owing to the disparate sample sizes involved and the fact that it
utilised previously published norms for the HRQOL instrument.
More recent data was provided by Yatham and colleagues, who reported on SF-36 scores
in patients with BD type I (N=920) who were either currently depressed, or had
experienced a recent episode of depression15. Scores were significantly lower across all
scale domains in the bipolar group compared with norms reported for the US general
population, with markedly lower scores in the mental health, vitality, social functioning
and role emotional domains. The authors went on to compare these scores with SF-36
scores derived from seven large studies of HRQOL in patients with unipolar depression.
Scores on four domains (general health, social functioning, role-physical and role-
emotional) were consistently lower than those observed in unipolar depression, however,
the unipolar samples tended to exhibit higher scores in the bodily pain domain. Whilst
this study was robust in terms of its large sample size and well-described clinical
population, it did not control for depression severity or demographic variables in
between-group comparisons. Also, diagnosis of BD was made by clinical interview,
whereas unipolar depression was diagnosed via a range of subjective and objective
methods. A smaller Brazilian study that compared patients with unipolar MDD (N = 89)
and with bipolar depression (N = 25) on the WHOQOL-BREF (a carefully developed 26-
item scale assessing four domains of wellbeing: physical, psychological, social
relationships and environment,16 found poorer psychological functioning in the bipolar
Several other studies have compared HRQOL in patients with BD with that of patients
with other psychiatric conditions. For example, the NEMESIS study conducted in the
Netherlands compared SF-36 scores in 136 adults with DSM-III-R lifetime BD (93 with
BD type I and 43 with BD NOS, as diagnosed by the Composite International Diagnostic
Interview or CIDI interview) with that observed in a variety of other psychiatric
disorders18. Participants with BD showed significantly more impairment in most SF-36
domains compared with other NEMESIS subjects. For example, in the domain of mental
health, participants with BD type I experienced significantly lower scores (62.3) than
people with other mood (75.2), anxiety (74.0), substance use (80.2) or no psychiatric
disorders (85.8). BD type I subjects also reported significantly lower SF-36 scores than
patients with BD NOS in the domains of mental health, role limitations (emotional),
social functioning and pain. However, there remains some controversy about the
accuracy with which the CIDI detects BD NOS, limiting somewhat the inferences that
can be made on the basis of these sub-group results. Furthermore, more recent results
from the NEMESIS study suggest that the CIDI interview might over-diagnose BD
compared to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) interview schedule19.
Other research has compared QoL in patients with schizophrenia with that observed in
patients with BD. For example, Chand and colleagues in India measured QoL via the
Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q)20 and the
WHOQOL-BREF in patients with BD who were in remission and stabilized on lithium
prophylaxis (N=50), patients with schizophrenia (N=20) and healthy controls (N=20)21.
The Q-LES-Q is a 93-item self-report measure of the degree of enjoyment and
satisfaction in various areas of daily living. The questionnaire was developed and
validated for use in depressed outpatients and has eight summary scales that reflect major
areas of functioning: physical health, mood, leisure time activities, social relationships,
general activities, work, household duties and school/coursework. Mean Q-LES-Q scores
can be derived from the eight summary scales and range from 0-100, where higher scores
indicate better QoL. The bipolar group reported significantly better QoL than the
schizophrenia group in all domains of the scale, and in general well-being, physical
health and psychological health on the WHOQOL-BREF22.
Research findings in this nascent area of research, however, have been inconsistent. For
example, Atkinson and colleagues23 used the Quality of Life Index24, to assess QoL in
patients with BD (N=37), MDD (N=35) and schizophrenia (N=69). Controversially, the
authors found that subjectively reported QoL was lower in patients with BD and MDD
than in those with schizophrenia, a trend that was reversed for objectively assessed QoL,
which included measures such as medical history, health risk behaviors, educational and
financial levels and social functioning. These findings led the authors to speculate about
the validity of subjective measures of QoL, particularly in people with affective
disorders, and the study became an oft-quoted example of the potential difficulties of
using patient-centered outcome assessments in psychiatric conditions that may be
characterized by factors such as loss of insight (for example, see 25;26).
More recently, Goldberg and Harrow (2005)27 compared subjective life satisfaction and
objectively measured functioning in patients following hospitalization for an episode of
bipolar mania (N=35), unipolar psychotic depression (N=27) and unipolar nonpsychotic
depression (N=95). Both life satisfaction (five major domains, work satisfaction,
economic security, satisfaction with social activities and relationships, satisfaction with
living situation and perceived mental health were assessed via non-standardised semi-
structured interview questions) and functioning (objectively measured via a global
outcome scale based on factors such as rehospitalization, psychiatric illness, self-support,
role performance and social relationships) were assessed longitudinally in the sample at
approximately 2, 4.5 and 7-8 years. Their data indicated, firstly, that subjectively
assessed life satisfaction was not significantly different between the bipolar/unipolar
groups (although objectively assessed work functioning scores were poorer in the bipolar
group compared to the unipolar groups). Secondly, it was found that concordance
between subjective and objective measures of functioning was higher in the nonpsychotic
depression sample than in the bipolar or unipolar psychotic depression samples,
consistent with Atkinson et al.’s earlier finding that more severely ill affective disorder
patients’ subjectively assessed life satisfaction may not be equivalent to objectively
assessed functioning. The authors posited some tentative explanations for this finding,
including the possibility that more severely ill patients may experience diminished
insight, insensitivity to changing life circumstances as a consequence of demoralization
or desensitization to stress, or altered life expectations. An alternative explanation for
these findings is that discrepancies between objective and subjective measures of
HRQOL signify a genuine difference rather than an anomaly related to the patient’s
psychiatric condition (see Ritsner, Chapter 1 of this collection). Clearly, better designed
research is required to help unpack the complex and probably multifaceted relationship
between subjective interpretations of life quality and objectively assessed functioning in
individuals who are experiencing severe and chronic forms of BD.
Finally, other research has applied a ‘health utility’ or ‘health preference’ model to assess
health perceptions in patients with BD. The concept of health utility refers to an
individual’s preferences for different health states under conditions of uncertainty28.
Health preferences are values that reflect an individual’s level of subjective satisfaction,
distress or desirability associated with various health conditions, and are frequently
assessed by the ‘time tradeoff’ (TTO) and ‘standard gamble’ (SG) approaches29. TTO
refers to the years of life a person would be hypothetically willing to exchange for perfect
health. For example, patients might be asked to imagine that a treatment exists that would
allow them to live in perfect physical and mental health, but reduces their life expectancy.
They might then be asked to indicate how much time they would give up for a treatment
that would permit them to live in perfect health, if they had ten years to live. SG refers to
the required chance for successful outcome to accept a treatment that could result in
either immediate death or perfect health. For example, patients might be asked to
imagine that they had ten years to live in their current state of health, and that a treatment
existed that could either give them perfect health, or kill them immediately. Patients
might then be asked to indicate what chance of success the treatment would have to have
In a recent study, Revicki et al. (2005)30 assessed health utility values in N = 96 clinically
stable outpatients with BD type I. Standard gamble data indicated that the least preferred
bipolar state was inpatient mania-related states, on a par with severe depression states (M
= 0.26, SD = 0.29 and M = 0.29, SD = 0.28 respectively). Importantly, 96% of their
sample was able to complete the SG tasks, indicating that (clinically stable and well-
educated) patients with BD are capable of completing these relatively challenging
interpretations of health status. In earlier research, Wells and colleagues (1999)31
assessed functioning and health utility in patients with depression or chronic medical
conditions within seven managed care organizations in the United States. HRQOL was
assessed via the global mental and physical scales of the SF-12 and health utility was
measured via TTO and SG. Patients with depression were categorized as those with BD
(N=331), MDD (N=3,479), double depression (N=944), dysthymia (N=151) or brief
subthreshold depressive symptoms (N=987). In terms of HRQOL, the bipolar group
showed levels of impairment second only to patients with double depression. Health
utility followed the same pattern. Specifically, patients with BD were willing to give up
on average 17% of their life expectancy in return for perfect health, and would accept on
average an 11% risk of death in exchange for perfect health. In comparison, patients with
MDD were willing to give up 11% of their life expectancy, and accept a 6% risk of death.
Tsevat and colleagues32 examined functional status and health utility in 53 outpatients
with BD recruited from one site of the multicenter Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network
study. The authors aimed to assess how patients with BD rated their current overall health
versus their current mental health, and to determine the extent to which health utility
correlated with disease state. TTO scores for current overall health were 0.71, but were
significantly higher than scores for current mental health, which averaged 0.61. In other
words, patients with BD were willing to give up, on average, 39% of their life expectancy
in return for perfect mental health. These values are similar to TTO values obtained in the
Beaver Dam Health Outcomes Study in patients with depression (0.70) or anxiety (0.77).
SF-36 data was also collected in the study, and the authors reported that certain SF-36
domains (general health, vitality and role-emotional) were significantly correlated with
mental health TTO and SG scores, but levels of mania were not correlated with utilities
for either overall health or mental health. The authors concluded that health utilities may
be related to certain health status attributes and to level of depression, but may not be
related to level of mania in patients with BD. One advantage of the health
utility/preference approach to QoL assessment is that it allows the calculation of quality-
adjusted life years (QALYs) (for example,33). QALYs are a commonly used outcome
measure in cost-effectiveness studies (for example, see 34), but we are unaware of any
studies that have taken advantage of this metric in assessing BD populations at the time
In summary, studies using a range of questionnaire and more complex measures have
generally confirmed that QoL is, in a range of domains and to a marked extent, lower
amongst patients with BD than in the normal population. Beyond this commonsense
finding, there is some evidence that QoL is poorer in BD than in other mood and anxiety
disorders (perhaps with the exception of double depression). Comparison of BD and
psychotic disorders has highlighted a fundamental challenge in comparing QoL across
patient groups, namely, that QoL when assessed subjectively in BD might be
systematically influenced by the disorder’s varying mood and cognitive symptoms. In
the next section, we look more closely at state effects on QoL in BD.
Individuals with BD can experience a number of different mood states or episodes (for
example, severe depressions through to highly elated mood) during the course of their
disorder, or indeed a combination of these mood states (for example, mixed episodes of
depression and mania). Bipolar disorder provides a unique window for the QoL
researcher to gaze through; it is of significant scientific and clinical relevance to know
what impact these mood shifts have upon individuals’ perceived life quality.
It is reasonable to expect that QoL would be negatively affected by the depressive
episodes of BD. Indeed, as noted above, the large-N study of Yatham et al.35 found
remarkably low self-reported QoL amongst BD patients who were either depressed or
had experienced a recent episode of depression. The potential relationship between QoL
and hypo/mania in BD, however, is not so straightforward. The ‘father of modern
psychiatry’ Emil Kraepelin recognized a wide variety of presentations of hypomania and
mania, including episodes that were characterised by significant dysphoria or depressive
symptomatology. The notion that hypo/mania can be an uncomfortable and unpleasant
experience for some individuals, however, lost favour in the mid 20th century, and was
almost entirely replaced with an understanding of hypo/mania as a primarily euphoric,
positive and driving state. However, more recent research has provided further evidence
for Kraepelin’s more flexible conceptualization of mania and both dysphoric mania
(which is characterised by significant depressive symptomatology) and mixed episodes
(where the patient meets criteria for both manic and depressive episodes simultaneously)
The observation that manic states can be accompanied by symptoms of depression led
Vojta and colleagues to hypothesize that patients with manic symptoms would report
significantly lower QoL than would patients who were euthymic36. To test this theory,
the authors administered the SF-12 and the EuroQoL visual analog scale37 in bipolar
patients in a manic/hypomanic episode (N=16), depressive episode (N=26), mixed
episode (N=14) or who were euthymic (N=30). In keeping with their prediction, patients
with mania/hypomania showed significantly lower SF-12 mental health scores than
euthymic patients, with depressed or mixed patients showing significantly poorer
HRQOL again. Mean EuroQoL scores ran in the same direction, although the difference
between euthymic and manic/hypomanic patients was not significant. This research was
supported in part by the standard gamble data provided by Revicki and colleagues38
which indicated that the condition least preferred by patients with BD is an inpatient
mania-related state, although this was rated in their study as being as unpleasant as being
Although the research by Vojta and colleagues produced some interesting preliminary
data, the study did not control for confounding variables such as psychiatric comorbidity,
sociodemographic factors, personality type or other psychosocial variables. The complex
issue of QoL across clinical states in BD has recently been addressed more
comprehensively in a cross-sectional study of the first 2000 participants enrolled in the
Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder, or STEP-BD39.
STEP-BD, a large multicentre prospective, naturalistic study that features several
embedded randomized-controlled trials is measuring QoL via the long version of the Q-
LES-Q and the SF-3640. In addition, the study is assessing a comprehensive battery of
possible confounders, including demographic and socioeconomic factors, family history,
psychiatric comorbidity, clinical characteristics (including age of onset), personality (as
assessed by the 60-item NEO-Five Factor Inventory), social support, negative life events
and attributional style. The primary finding from the analysis was that depressive
symptoms were strongly associated with poorer emotional QoL, even after relevant
confounding variables were controlled for. Conversely, apparent “supranormal” QoL
reported in patients with hypo/mania (compared to that of euthymic patients) disappeared
after statistical control. These results represent early data from a study that has the
potential to address several important questions regarding QoL in BD.
The above sections have summarized our current understanding of how episodes of
depression and hypo/mania impact upon HRQOL. However, it is also of interest for us to
know how patients function between these episodes, or when they are considered to be in
remission. The notion that patients with BD usually achieve complete functional
recovery between episodes has been brought into question by a growing body of evidence
indicating that inter-episode functioning in the condition often remains compromised,
with marked residual functional deficits often remaining after symptomatic recovery41.
Available research indicates that 25-35% of patients continue to experience partial
impairment in their occupational and social functioning; a similar proportion will exhibit
extreme functional problems42-45. Furthermore, degree of functional impairment appears
to be strongly correlated with residual depressive symptoms (for example, 46,47) during
Several studies have now assessed QoL in inter-episode patients with BD. For example,
a Canadian research group generated a series of interrelated reports on QoL in euthymic
patients with BD. Three publications48-50 describe various aspects of QoL in a single
sample of outpatients (N=∼68) with BD type I or II who had been clinically euthymic for
at least one month. First, Cooke and colleagues48 examined levels of HRQOL using the
MOS SF-20, a short version of the SF-36. Mean scores on the scale were comparable to
those reported for patients with MDD by Wells and colleagues in the large RAND
Corporation MOS Study51. Analysis of SF-20 scores by type of BD showed that patients
with BD type II reported significantly poorer HRQOL than BD type I in the areas of
social functioning and mental health. Robb and colleagues49 then reported on QoL in the
context of the ‘Illness Intrusiveness Model’52;53, which addresses the impact a disorder
and/or its treatment has upon an individual’s activities across 13 life domains: health,
diet, active/passive recreation, work/financial status, self expression/improvement, family
relations, relations with spouse, sex life, other relationships, religious expression and
community involvement. Illness intrusiveness occurred in several life areas, with more
intrusion being associated with higher Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Ham-D)54
scores, patients having experienced a recent episode of depression and having BD type II.
In a separate sample of euthymic BD type I patients (N=62), MacQueen and colleagues55
reported that SF-20 scores did not appear to be impacted by whether or not the patient
had experienced psychosis during their index episode of mania, although the psychotic
sample may have been too small (N=16) to detect statistically significant differences
between sub-groups. Finally, MacQueen and colleagues56 focused upon the effect of
number of manic and depressive episodes on SF-20 and GAF scores in euthymic patients
(N=64), finding that number of past episodes of depression was a stronger determinant of
HRQOL than number of previous manic episodes. In this study, good correlation was
reported between subjective (SF-20) and objective (GAF) ratings.
A study by Ozer and colleagues57 assessed 100 interepisode patients with BD in Turkey
with the aim of examining the impact of ‘history of illness’ and ‘present
symptomatology’ factors upon a variety of outcome measures including the Schedule for
Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia (SADS) and Q-LES-Q. Using multivariate
analysis, Ozer and colleagues found that none of the historical variables (including age at
first episode, number of previous depressive/manic episodes, duration of illness, number
of hospitalizations, age at first hospitalization, or number of symptoms during first
episode) were predictive of mean Q-LES-Q scores. Of the current symptoms assessed,
only the depression subscale of the SADS interview significantly predicted lower Q-LES-
Q scores, accounting for only 13% of the observed variance. When the patient population
was subdivided into three groups (low, moderate and high) according to severity of
SADS depression scores, mean Q-LES-Q scores were 39%, 38% and 35%, respectively.
In comparison, mean Q-LES-Q scores have been reported to be 42% in hospitalized
psychiatric inpatients58, 42% in outpatients with MDD59, 44% in patients with seasonal
affective disorder (SAD)60, 53% in patients with chronic MDD61, and 83% in the general
One potential problem with existing research addressing HRQOL in euthymic patients
with BD concerns the differing research methodologies used to determine euthymia.
Whereas clinical trials of maintenance treatment interventions for BD tend to apply
rigorous determinants of euthymia on the basis of standardized psychiatric rating scales
such as the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS)62 and Ham-D, many of the studies in the
HRQOL arena have applied less stringent criteria, such as clinician impression of
functioning. Given that even mild residual symptoms (particularly of depression) appear
to be strongly associated with impaired QoL, it is important for future research to use
more sophisticated and thorough assessments of residual symptomatology and more
In summary, a number of studies have attended to the QoL implications of the different
syndromes that fall under the rubric of BD. In terms of the degree of QoL impact, there
is evidence to suggest that both the depressive and hypo/manic syndromes are associated
with reduced QoL relative to euthymic states. However, further investigation of QoL in
euthymic states within BD highlights the importance of considering the course by which
the patient arrived at euthymia (past episodes of depression, hypomania versus mania)
and the current features of the euthymic state (especially the quasi-ubiquitous presence of
depressive symptoms). Bipolar disorder is a heterogeneous condition both between and
within individuals: not surprisingly, then, the QoL consequences of BD are measurably
impacted by both current state and individual course of the disorder.
QoL as an outcome measure in BD treatment research
In a review of clinical trials published prior to 2002, Revicki and colleagues11 identified
three that had included HRQOL assessments. In our more recent literature review12 that
included studies published prior to 2005, we identified eight studies that had incorporated
a QoL outcome measure: five clinical trials that examined pharmacological interventions
for BD and three studies that assessed non-pharmacological interventions. At the time of
writing1, a Medline search reveals that results from two further large clinical trials have
been published that included a HRQOL assessment63;64. The following section will
provide an overview of this nascent body of research.
Namjoshi and colleagues from a Lilly research group have conducted a series of studies
examining the efficacy of olanzapine as a treatment intervention for BD65-69. In the first
of these, Namjoshi et al., (2002)65 evaluated the impact of acute (3-week) treatment with
olanzapine or placebo and long-term (49-week open label) treatment of BD type I
(manic/mixed). During the acute-phase treatment period, treatment-related 1 June 2006
improvements in HRQOL were only apparent for the physical functioning domain of the
SF-36. Improvement in other aspects of HRQOL (specifically, bodily pain, vitality,
general health and social functioning) occurred during the open label treatment period,
indicating that olanzapine may have a relatively rapid effect in terms of improving
physical functioning in patients with acute mania, but other HRQOL domains may be
Shi and colleagues compared the treatment effects of olanzapine and haloperidol in
patients with acute mania (N=453)66,67. During the acute treatment phase of the study,
significantly greater improvement in five of the SF-36 domains (general health, physical
functioning, role limitations – physical, social functioning and vitality) was apparent in
the olanzapine group. Superiority of olanzapine over haloperidol persisted over the
study’s 6-week continuation phase, during which time improvements in work and
household functioning also became apparent. Other research has examined the effects of
adding olanzapine to lithium or valproate in patients with BD (N=224)68. Combination
therapy was associated with better outcome in several Quality of Life Interview (QOLI69)
domains compared to lithium or valproate monotherapy. The SF-36 and Quality of Life
in Depression Scale (QLDS70) have been used in a study comparing the benefits of
olanzapine alone versus an olanzapine-fluoxetine combination or placebo71. Compared
with placebo, patients who received olanzapine showed greater improvement at 8 weeks
in SF-36 mental health summary scores, and in mental health, role-emotional and social
functioning domain scores. The combination group fared significantly better in terms of
HRQOL improvement than the olanzapine-alone group, showing improvement in five of
the SF-36 domain scores and in QLDS total score.
The Q-LES-Q has been administered at baseline (hospital discharge), 6 and 12 weeks in a
comparison of divalproex sodium and olanzapine in the treatment of acute mania72. No
significant treatment effects were detected in Q-LES-Q scores in the study, although only
52 (43%) of the 120 patients randomized to either divalproex or olanzapine completed
the QoL instrument. The authors reported an association between weight gain being
reported as an adverse event and poorer change scores in the physical, leisure, and
general activities domains of the Q-LES-Q at 6 weeks (but not at 12 weeks). Negative
correlations were reported between increased weight (at 6 weeks) and overall life
satisfaction, physical health, mood, general activities and satisfaction with medication on
the Q-LES-Q. In a more recent study, Revicki and colleagues (2005)73 reported on data
from a pragmatic, randomized clinical trial of divalproex versus lithium in 201 patients
hospitalized for a BD type I manic or mixed episode. Life quality was assessed via the
SF-36 at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, with no significant differences emerging between
intervention groups in HRQOL outcome. An analysis of HRQOL in patients who
continued mood stabilizing therapy beyond 3 months versus those who did not found no
significant between group differences in SF-36 physical functioning scores, although
there was a non-significant trend towards improved mental functioning scores in the
continuation group at the 6 and 12 month assessment points.
Finally, some initial HRQOL data has recently been published from the BOLDER
study74. BOLDER is a large, 8-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, fixed-dose,
placebo-controlled monotherapy study of quetiapine (600 or 300 mg/day) versus placebo
in outpatients with DSM-IV bipolar I or bipolar II disorder, with or without rapid cycling,
in a major depressive episode. The study administered the 16-item short form of the Q-
LES-Q at baseline, weeks 4 and 8 to assess QoL, finding 12 and 11 point increase in Q-
LES-Q scores at last assessment in the high and low dose groups respectively, compared
to a 7-point change in the placebo group (i.e. significantly greater improvement in QoL in
both groups after 8 weeks of treatment compared to placebo). These data are
encouraging; elsewhere, the Q-LES-Q has been used to assess outcome in the treatment
of dysthymia with sertraline, imipramine or placebo, where after 12 weeks of treatment
an 8-point change was reported in the two active intervention arms, with a 4-point change
in the placebo arm75. In another study of the treatment of chronic depression with either
sertraline or imipramine, a 9-point change was seen after 4 weeks of treatment, and a 14-
point change after 12 weeks76. The 12-point change in Q-LES-Q score observed in the
BOLDER study is in keeping, then, with outcome data from other studies in unipolar
depression, indicating that QoL in patients with BD is also amenable to relatively rapid
change, even when study inclusion criteria are broadened to include greater diagnostic
heterogeneity, such as rapid cycling and BD type II patients. It will be interesting to see
the impact of treatments upon long-term QoL outcomes in the BOLDER trial, and other
well-designed pharmacological intervention studies.
Although pharmacology forms the bedrock of treatment for BD77, there is a clear need for
other treatment modalities that augment the effects of medication in this complex
psychiatric condition. Over the last decade, we have seen an upsurge of interest in
examining the role of psychological interventions as an adjunct to the pharmacological
treatment of BD78;79. Most of this research has concentrated upon examining the efficacy
of psychotherapy (in a variety of guises) as a treatment intervention. Several multi-modal
psychotherapeutic interventions for BD have been developed, such as Family Focused
Treatment (FFT)80;81, Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy82 and Cognitive-
Behavioural Therapy (CBT)83. Surprisingly few studies of psychosocial treatment
interventions for BD, however, have used QoL measures to assess outcome. In one
study, Patelis-Siotis and colleagues84 used the SF-36 in a feasibility study of group
cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in patients with BD. Although baseline SF-36 data
was available for 42 patients, pre and post intervention data was only available for a
proportion of participants (N=22) as completion of the QoL questionnaires was optional.
Nevertheless, SF-36 vitality and role emotional scores were significantly improved
following CBT, with an accompanying trend towards improved social functioning. A
more recent study examined the effects of providing three sessions of psychoeducation
(PE) about lithium treatment to patients (N=26) with BD85. In addition to assessing the
effects of PE upon medication adherence, the authors examined the impact of the
intervention upon QoL, as measured by the WHOQOL-BREF. Following PE, patients in
the intervention arm of the study showed significant improvement in two of the
WHOQOL-BREF’s four domains (physical health and social functioning) and in overall
perceived health. Patients in the control arm of the study, in comparison, showed no
significant changes in their perceived QoL. The results of the study indicate that even
relatively brief psychosocial treatment interventions can have a positive impact upon
HRQOL – a finding supported by our own non-randomised study of the effects of PE
upon Q-LES-Q scores in euthymic or mildly symptomatic outpatients (N=57) with BD
In summary, research using QoL as an outcome measure attests to the fact that QoL
measures provide additional important information over that provided by symptom
measures. Although based on a small number of studies, there is some evidence that QoL
improves relatively slowly after treatment (perhaps paralleling functional recovery).
Emerging research into adjunctive psychosocial treatments suggests that even relatively
brief interventions may have effects on QoL.
Over the past decade, we have seen an upsurge of interest in examining QoL in BD. This
emerging body of research has provided some initial evidence that it is both feasible and
important to assess life quality in this complex psychiatric condition. Our own
qualitative data garnered from in-depth interviews with patients diagnosed with BD
suggests that QoL is a meaningful indicator of well-being in this patient population87.
Importantly, when measuring outcome in response to treatment, QoL assessment scales
hold the potential to provide information over and above that provided by traditional
outcome measures. However, this chapter has also served to illustrate that the existing
literature on QoL in BD is relatively immature, lagging well behind the study of QoL in
relation to other psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. In particular, there is no
current consensus about which QoL instruments are most appropriate for use in this
patient population, very little replication of core findings across research studies, and as
yet there is no disorder-specific measure to assess QoL in patients with BD.
How, then, should the field progress? At a theoretical level, it is useful to draw direction
from the substantial research into QoL in other psychiatric disorders. Ritsner’s
Distress/Protection Vulnerability model, for example, is based on a number of studies
showing that immediate illness factors are only one aspect of the QoL picture. His model
is framed around two groups of factors – distress (e.g., negative symptoms of
schizophrenia) and protective (e.g., social support). Most importantly, perhaps, his
model parallels the prominent diathesis-stress model of psychopathology, in positing a
primary role for stable temperamental traits that act as vulnerabilities (e.g., neuroticism,
emotion-focused coping), or protective factors (e.g., extraversion, high self-esteem) for
QoL. He suggests, therefore, that QoL is not usefully seen as an outcome of illness, but
as a stable feature of the person that is impacted by illness (as well as other features of the
environment). The evidence he presents to support this framing of QoL is the generally
low correlations between illness-related variables and QoL, the absence of progressive
alteration of QoL over time in patients with serious mental disorders, and the presence of
QoL impairments in patients who ultimately will, but are not currently, exhibiting signs
In Chapter 1 of this collection, Ritsner also discusses the potential interface between
neurobiological and quality of life research. Numerous neurobiological factors may
conceivably be related to QoL in BD. These include genetic polymorphisms, structural
brain abnormalities (e.g., white matter lesions), hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA)
axis function and neurocognition. Although little work has been done relating these
factors to QoL in BD there is particular interest in the latter two factors at present. HPA
axis function is now understood to be abnormal in patients with BD and it has also been
shown that this abnormality persists into euthymia88. In cancer patients pilot studies have
shown enhanced QoL and decreased stress symptoms with possibly beneficial changes in
HPA axis functioning after stress reduction programs89. We await the application of such
an approach to BD with interest. Neurocognitive impairment has also been described in
euthymic BD, including widespread impairments in executive function90. Such deficits
may clearly contribute to impaired QoL particularly in the euthymic phase and indeed are
commonly a source of complaint in patients with BD. However the temporal relationship
between HPA axis function, cognition and QoL in BD remains to be fully established and
is an area of active research at present.
Ritsner further highlights that, in contrast to QoL research in schizophrenia, the BD QoL
field is still driven by a strongly medical model conception, with the illness itself
dominating explanations of QoL. No studies in QoL of BD have yet measured the
psychological variables (specifically, personality, coping style, cognitive style) that are
components of Ritsner’s more holistic model of HRQL. In a fundamental way, QoL
research in the field of BD still starts with the disorder, while QoL research as
championed by Ritsner starts with the person. Following the lead of schizophrenia
research, future research into QoL in BD should include important “third variables”, such
as measures of normal personality, which are almost certain to moderate and/or mediate
the effect of life events (including mental disorder) on QoL.
At an empirical level, the widespread adoption of a disease-specific QoL instrument for
BD is critical for the advancement of the field. Although some existing QoL instruments
are likely to capture key aspects of QoL in this condition, they may be less sensitive to
some of the more unique aspects of this complex psychiatric disorder. QoL scales
developed for patients with unipolar depression (such as the QLDS) or for unspecified
psychiatric populations (such as the Q-LES-Q) will overlap in content somewhat with a
scale developed specifically for patients with BD. However, there are likely to be some
bipolar symptoms (for example, financial indiscretion, hypersexuality, interpersonal
behaviour when hypo/manic) that have a unique impact upon QoL that existing scales do
not tap. Indeed, part of the rationale for developing disorder-specific measures lies in the
understanding that such scales can be more sensitive to change in response to treatment
than their more generic counterparts91. However, the validity of disorder-specific scales
should be maximized through thorough consultation with individuals with the condition
themselves, a core part of the development of our own disorder specific scale for BD, the
Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD).
In order to generate an initial set of items for the QoL.BD, we performed a series of in-
depth qualitative interviews, aiming a priori to garner the viewpoints of a fairly
representative sample of people diagnosed with the disorder (for example, BD type I and
II, low functioning versus high functioning individuals). We also aimed to interview
caregivers of people severely affected by BD (in the belief that the individuals
themselves might be unable to undergo a lengthy qualitative interview), healthcare
workers with expertise in BD (in the belief that they would be able to describe the impact
of BD upon QoL at a broader group level) and international experts in the BD research.
In total, we conducted 52 interviews with people with BD (N=35), their caregivers (N=5)
and healthcare professionals or experts (N=12) identified by both convenience and
purposive sampling. Clinical characteristics of the affected sample ranged widely
between individuals who had been clinically stable for several years through to inpatients
who were recovering from a severe episode of depression or mania.
The results of this initial study provided some interesting initial data concerning the
impact of BD upon QoL87;93. The majority of the affected individuals we interviewed
described how the condition had had a profoundly negative effect upon their QoL, often
having serious and enduring effects on their ability to have good education, meaningful
vocation, financial independence and healthy social and intimate relationships. Having
said this, we also interviewed a number of people who were functioning exceptionally
well despite their diagnosis; a minority of people even espoused the view that their
condition had opened up new doors of opportunity for them, for example, in terms of
positively changing their career paths or social networks. On the whole, however, even
these individuals described having undergone several years of hardship and adjustment
before getting ‘back on track’. Respondents described a wide variety of factors that
influenced their QoL, including but not limited to: side effects of medications,
occupation, education, physical functioning, environment, healthcare factors, leisure
activities, routine and sexuality. Some of the factors discussed (for example,
independence, stigma and disclosure, identity, and spirituality) are not frequently
examined in relation to QoL; yet, they appear to have a significant impact upon peoples’
ability to live their lives to the full in the context of BD. We are continuing to develop
the QoL.BD in close consultation with both individuals with BD and healthcare
professionals in the hope of maximizing the validity of the resulting scale.
In terms of empirical findings to date, and recognizing the limitations described above, it
a) QoL is seriously affected in BD. The QoL impacts of BD might be more
serious than seen in other mood and anxiety disorders (except perhaps double
depression), and may even be comparable to the consequences of the deteriorating
b) Consistent with recent thinking and epidemiological data, there is little support
for the notion that there are states of BD that have purely positive QoL
implications. Both euthymia and mania are commonly flavoured with depression,
and the depressed states and depressive symptoms of BD are clearly negative
c) Consistent with an emphasis on broader outcome measures in psychiatry
generally, and a more patient-centred perspective, the small number of studies
with relevant data have found that symptom variables and QoL variables respond
differently to both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Consistent with the
definition of QoL, there is some evidence that effective treatment is measured
d) Future QoL research in BD is likely to benefit from adopting a broader focus,
and including measures of the range of variables that undoubtedly interact with
life events (including disorder) to produce individual differences in QoL.
e) Pace the prescription above to be less disorder-centric, the field also requires a
disorder-specific measure that is sensitive to the range of quality of life impacts
that result from the interaction between predispositions (both vulnerabilities and
strengths), positive and negative features of the present environment and the
specific symptoms of BD. Given the immature state of the literature, such an
instrument is best developed “bottom-up”, with the raw data being descriptions of
QoL deriving from patients, carers and relevant others.
The challenge of investigating QoL in BD is sizeable but worthwhile. It is sizeable
because BD is heterogeneous both within and between individuals, and the variety of
states implied by the label will have different QoL implications. It is a worthwhile
challenge not only because of the importance of QoL understandings for the
comprehensive management of the disorder, but also because the complexity of the
disorder provides a useful stimulus for thinking about significant issues in QoL research.
The next few years will see no doubt see exciting developments in this burgeoning field.
Erin Michalak is supported by a Michael Smith Scholar Award from the Michael Smith
Foundation for Health Research and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New
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