ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: It has been known that bipolar disorder has diverse courses and complicated factors affecting prognoses. We investigated the 2.5 years course of illness and the predictors of psychosocial outcome of 56 patients who had been hospitalized. As a preliminary step of the prospective outcome study, a retrospective assessment was used. METHODS: At the point of admission and after hospitalization, demographic data, clinical manifestation, duration of illness, numbers and natures of episode, and other clinical variables of the patients were investigated from their psychiatric medical records. The patients' current psychosocial function was assessed using psychosocial items and GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) score of PSYCH-UP (Psychosocial Symptoms You Currently Have, follow-up version). RESULTS: The patients experienced on average 3.6 times of depressive, hypomanic, manic and mixed episodes during the 2.5 years. The approximately equal numbers of two poles of episodes, depressive and manic including hypomanic, manitested. The premorbid function showed significant difference to GAF score in one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) but not contributed significantly in multiple regression. A stepwise multiple regression revealed that mean duration of admission and numbers of episode recurrence contributed significantly to the GAF score. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the numbers of episode recurrence and the mean duration of admission are important variables as predictors for psychosocial outcome in patients with bipolar disorder.