Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is serious, chronic psychiatric illnesses
characterized by alternating episodes of mania or hypomania and depression, or mixtures of
manic and depressive features and appears in adolescence or early adulthood. Aim: This
study aimed to assess quality of life among patients with bipolar disorder. Design: A
descriptive exploratory study design was utilized in this study. Setting: This study was
carried out in the outpatient clinic of the Institute of Psychiatry at Ain Shams University.
Subjects: A purposive sample of 40 patients with bipolar disorder Data were collected
using: 1) Interviewing questionnaire containing the following parts: A) Socio-demographic
characteristics. B) Patients' clinical data sheet. C) Patients' level of knowledge regarding
bipolar disorder. 2) Quality of life in bipolar disorder (QOL.BD-56) questionnaire. The
results: there was highly significant difference as regarding total QOL (P ≤ 0.001).
Additionally, there was statistically significant correlation found between adequacy of
monthly income and total QOL. Besides, there was no statistically significant correlation
found between age, gender, marital status, education level and occupation as regard total
QOL. Conclusions: the total level of QOL was negative in all dimensions of QOL toward
the patients with bipolar disorder under study. Recommendations: Examination of the role
of comorbidities such as anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders on QOL in bipolar
disorder, and construction of family interventions designed to support family
members'
efforts to cope with the intrusion of BD into the household.