TOPLINE

Euthymic patients with bipolar disorder (BD) who reported engaging in regular structured physical exercise at least twice a week had significantly higher cognitive scores than those who did not exercise, particularly in global cognition, working memory, and immediate verbal learning, a study showed.

METHODOLOGY

• In a cross-sectional analysis of prerandomization screening data from an ongoing randomized controlled trial, researchers examined the potential association between self-reported physical exercise and cognitive performance in patients with BD.
• A total of 108 euthymic patients with BD type I or II (aged 18-55 years) were included from an outpatient clinic in Brazil.
• Patients were assigned to an exercise group (n = 48), defined by self-reported engagement in regular structured physical exercise at least twice a week, and a no-exercise group (n = 60). Exercise status was assessed using a brief in-house checklist.
• Cognitive impairment was assessed using the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP), which comprised subtests for immediate verbal learning, working memory, verbal fluency, processing speed, and delayed verbal learning.
• Mood symptoms were assessed using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Young Mania Rating Scale. Current medication use was also documented.

TAKEAWAY

• Cognitive performance was significantly higher in the exercise group than in the no-exercise group (mean SCIP total score, 64.63 vs 56.50; P < .001), particularly in terms of working memory (mean SCIP score, 18.94 vs 16.10; P = .002) and immediate verbal learning (mean SCIP score, 21.15 vs 18.46; P = .010).
• Mood symptoms were not significantly different between the groups.
• No significant differences were observed between groups in terms of verbal fluency or delayed verbal learning.
• The no-exercise group had a significantly higher prevalence of stimulant use (27.5% vs 4.5%; P = .029), whereas the exercise group had a higher prevalence of anticonvulsant use (45.5% vs 20%; P = .035).

IN PRACTICE

"Given the high prevalence of cognitive deficits in BD and their strong correlation with functional impairment, physical exercise represents a promising potential adjunctive strategy," the authors wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Gabriel Okawa Belizario, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil. It was published online on October 6 in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

LIMITATIONS

The study's cross-sectional design prevented the establishment of causality, and reverse causality and confounding by lifestyle factors could not be excluded. The assessment of exercise status lacked the use of a validated instrument, data were self-reported and dichotomous, and no data were available on the intensity, duration, or modality of exercise. Data on demographic and clinical covariates were unavailable. Nominally significant results may have represented a type I error.

DISCLOSURES

The study was funded by a private donation from Paulo Sergio Galvão and Latache Capital to the USP Bipolar Disorder Research Program and in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil. The authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.