Social cognition in euthymic bipolar disorder: systematic review and meta-analytic approach

SAMAME C., MARTINO D.J., STREJILEVICH S.A.

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012 vol. 125 p. 266 - 280

0001-690X

Objective: Deficits in social cognition have been reported in euthymicsubjects with bipolar disorder (BD). However, some studies have failedto find differences favoring controls. As most investigations have beenconducted with small samples, they have not had sufficient power todetect statistically significant differences. Furthermore, studiescommunicating positive results have scarcely attempted to estimateeffect sizes for patient–control differences. The aim of this study was tosummarize the findings of reports on social cognition in patients witheuthymic BD and to combine their data to identify possible deficits andquantify their magnitude.Method: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis.Results: Impairments of moderate magnitude (0.5 < d <0.8)werenoted across mentalizing skills, whereas small but significant effectsizes (d < 0.5) were observed for facial emotion recognition. Nopatient–control differences were found for decision-making.Conclusion: Meta-analytic findings provide evidence for emotionprocessing and theory of mind deficits in remitted bipolar patients.However, it is not yet clear whether these areas of impairment arerelatedtoneurocognitivedysfunctions or to medication effects. Theresults are discussed with regard to targets for futureneuropsychological research on BDs