Association between abnormal glycolipid level and cognitive dysfunction in drug-naive patients with bipolar disorder

Objectives: Cognitive impairment and abnormal glycolipid metabolism are common clinical features of bipolar disorder (BD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between conventional glycolipid metabolism indicators and cognitive impairment in patients with BD. Methods: A total of 132 drug-naive patients with BD and 129 healthy controls (HC) were recruited in the study. Five serum glycolipid metabolism indicators were measured and cognitive function was assessed using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and the Stroop Color-Word Test (Stroop test) for each participant. Results: The scores of immediate memory, attention, language and delayed memory in BD group were significantly lower than those in HC group (P < 0.05). The triglyceride (TG) level in BD group was higher than that in HC group (P = 0.011), and the total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) levels were lower than those in HC group (P = 0.026; P = 0.001). Regression analysis showed that TG level was significantly correlated with RBANS total score (beta = 0.245, P = 0.008), attention (beta = 0.289, P = 0.03) and delayed memory (beta = 0.221, P = 0.023). Fasting blood glucose (FBG) level was significantly correlated with language subscale score (beta = -0.187, P = 0.046) in BD. Limitations: Cross-sectional design and limited control variables. Conclusions: Elevated FBG and TG levels may be associated with cognitive dysfunction in BD patients. Improving glycolipid metabolism in patients with BD may help to improve certain domain-specific cognitive functions.

Automated summary

This study investigated the relationship between conventional glycolipid metabolism indicators and cognitive impairment in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). The results showed that patients with BD had lower cognitive function scores compared to healthy controls and higher triglyceride (TG) levels, as well as lower total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) levels. Regression analysis also found significant correlations between TG levels and cognitive function. The study suggests that improving glycolipid metabolism may help improve specific domain-specific cognitive functions in BD patients.