Key findings on bipolar disorders from the longitudinal FondaMental Advanced Center of Expertise-Bipolar Disorder (FACE-BD) cohort

Background: The FACE-BD cohort is an observational cohort of individuals with bipolar disorders (BD) who benefited from a systematic evaluation with evidence-based treatment recommendations and who were followed-up every year for 3 years in France. The objectives were to describe the lifetime course of BD, associated psychiatric and somatic comorbidities, and cognition profile. This cohort aims to identify clinical/biological signatures of outcomes, trajectories of functioning and transition between clinical stages. This article summarizes 10 years of findings of the FACE-BD cohort.Method & results: We included 4422 individuals, all having a baseline assessment, among which 61.2% had at least one follow-up visit at either one, two or three years. A subsample of 1200 individuals had at least one biological sample (serum, plasma, DNA). Assessments include family history of psychiatric disorders, psychiatric diagnosis, current mood symptoms, functioning, hospitalizations, suicidal attempts, physical health, routine blood tests, treatment history, psychological dimensions, medico-economic data and a cognitive assessment. Studies from this cohort illustrate that individuals with BD display multiple coexistent psychiatric associated conditions including sleep disturbances, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders and suicide attempts as well as a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome. During follow-up, we observed a 55% reduction of the number of days of hospitalization and a significant improvement in functioning.Conclusions: The FACE-BD cohort provides a strong research infrastructure for clinical research in BD and has a unique position among international cohorts because of its comprehensive clinical assessment and sustainable funding from the French Ministry of Health.

Automated summary

The FACE-BD cohort study provides valuable insights into the lifetime course of bipolar disorders, as well as the associated comorbidities and cognition profile. The study highlights the high prevalence of psychiatric conditions and metabolic syndrome among individuals with BD, and also demonstrates a significant reduction in hospitalization days and improvement in functioning over time.