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Cognitive Impairment Among Tunisian Bipolar Patients: a Case-Control Study

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Abstract

Studies exploring the cognitive performance of bipolar patients have mainly been conducted in Western countries. To our knowledge, no surveys have been reported to date in Tunisia. The present work aimed to evaluate the cognitive functions, in the three domains of memory, attention and executive functions, among a sample of Tunisian individuals with bipolar disorder, during the remission period, compared to healthy control subjects. We found that Cognitive functions in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder were significantly more impaired than in controls, apart from the working memory that did not show a significant difference between the two groups. Our findings confirm cognitive deficits associated with bipolar disorder, even at a distance from the symptomatic phases of the disease. Thus, these anomalies may be considered as a trait marker of the disease. A better understanding of cognitive decline certainly allows for better management of psychiatric pathologies, thus improving patients’ social skills and quality of life.

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Acknowledgments

The author appreciates all those who participated in the study and helped to facilitate the research process.

Authors’ Contribution Statements

Hanen Ben Ammar and Ghada Hamdi: are corresponding authors who contributed equally to this work.

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All authors declare that they received no source of funding for this study.

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Author notes

  1. Hanen Ben Ammar and Ghada Hamdi contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia

    Hanen Ben Ammar, Ghada Hamdi, Emira Khelifa & Zouhaier Elhechmi

  2. Psychiatry Department “F”, Razi Hospital, 1 Rue des Orangers, 2010, La Manouba, Tunisia

    Hanen Ben Ammar, Ghada Hamdi, Emira Khelifa & Zouhaier Elhechmi

  3. Faculty of Medicine of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia

    Sabria Khouadja

  4. Psychiatry Department, Mahdia Regional Hospital, Mahdia, Tunisia

    Sabria Khouadja

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  1. Hanen Ben Ammar
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Correspondence to Hanen Ben Ammar or Ghada Hamdi.

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All participants were examined, after their free and informed consent.

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Ben Ammar, H., Hamdi, G., Khelifa, E. et al. Cognitive Impairment Among Tunisian Bipolar Patients: a Case-Control Study. Psychiatr Q 92, 31–39 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09755-0

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