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The following is a summary of “Social cognition in bipolar I and II disorders: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the January 2025 issue of Psychiatry by Zhang et al.
Reports of social-cognition impairments in bipolar disorder have increased rapidly.
Researchers conducted a prospective study on social cognition in bipolar I and II, finding greater impaired attributions in BD II.
They conducted a systematic search on the Web of Science and PubMed up to 28 August 2024. Studies with ICD-10, DSM-IV, DSM-IV-TR, or DSM-5-defined BD I or II in any state were included. Bias risk was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale, and quality was evaluated with GRADE. Hedge’s g effect sizes were synthesized using a random-effects meta-analysis.
The results showed 20 studies covering the theory of mind (ToM), emotion processing, and attributions. ToM showed no difference between BD I and BD II, and emotion processing showed no difference in non-psychotic patients, with psychosis history negatively affecting performance. BD II had worse attributions than BD I, with a low to moderate effect size.
Investigators found similar performance in ToM and emotional processing between BD I and BD II, but BD II showed more impaired attributions. Future research was recommended to explore clinical features and other social cognition domains.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-06462-z
