Cognitive functioning and instrumental activities of daily living in late-life bipolar disorder.

Objective: The authors report on the relationship between cognitive functioning and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in elderly, clinically euthymic adults with bipolar disorder.
Methods: Twenty patients with bipolar disorder (age range: 61-86 years) were administered comprehensive neuropsychologic testing. Structured in-home performance-based assessments of IADLs were performed in 19 of these patients.
Results: Relative to age-equated comparators, bipolar subjects performed worse in information-processing speed and executive functioning. IADL performance was strongly correlated with these cognitive domains.
Conclusions: In euthymic elderly patients with bipolar disorder, decrements in information processing speed and executive functioning characterize cognitive function and are associated with poorer IADL performance.