People with bipolar disorder find it harder to manage if they're drinking alcohol

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-06-08 01:00

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Drinking too much alcohol makes it harder for people with bipolar disorder to manage their mood and perform at work, according to international researchers who say it's the drinking causing the problems, not the problems causing the drinking. Recruiting 584 people with bipolar type 1 and 2 from an ongoing study, the team used a series of screening tests to measure the participants' alcohol consumption, mental health and level of functioning. They say problematic alcohol use was linked with worse depressive and manic symptoms, as well as lower functioning in the workplace. This link existed regardless of whether people were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder, the researchers add. The increased mood problems appeared to follow increased drinking for the participants rather than vice versa, the researchers say, suggesting the increase in drinking was not triggered by the mood problems.