Profile and Correlates of Disability Among Bipolar Affective Disorder Patients Attending the Outpatient Clinic of a Nigerian Hospital

Abstract

Background: Individuals with Bipolar Affective Disordere unpredictable. This study is aimed
at investigating the profile of disability among individuals with BAD and the associated factors.

Methods: A total of one hundred consecutively enrolled study participants, made up of adult outpatients with BAD attending a Lagos based mental health facility were interviewed. The participants were  subjected to designed questionnaire to inquire about demographic and illness related variables. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders (SCID) was used to confirm diagnoses of BAD in them. Both Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were used to rate the severity of symptoms, and lastly the World Health Organization Disability  Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) was used to assess disability in participants.

Results: The mean and range scores for the participants on WHODAS were 24.93(±2.2) and 21.11-32.20 respectively. The WHODAS mean score in domain 3[self-care, 2.39 ±0.30] was least, while domain 6 [participation in the society, 7.55 ±1.18] had the highest mean score. Participants that were single (p= 0.047) and unemployed (p=0.023) had greater levels of disability, while those that earned money had lesser levels of disability (p=0.005).

Conclusion: This study finds varied levels of disability among people with BAD, and participation in the society was the worst affected area. The single and unemployed were more likely to have greater levels of disability, while those with source of income seem less affected with disability. Thus, proactive  interventions with incorporation of relevant social policy(s) to address disability in people with BAD to ensure better overall outcome are implied.

Keywords: Associated factors; Bipolar Affective Disorder; Disability; Socio-economic; Rehabilitation