Preliminary data suggest that patients who suffer from both bipolar disorder (BD) and alcohol dependence (AD) may be more vulnerable to cognitive dysfunction than patients with a single diagnosis, especially during periods that are clinically unstable.

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive recovery of dually-diagnosed patients during remission from an acute mood disturbance.

The study aimed to replicate our previous comparison of cognitive functioning between BD patients with and without AD, while on the inpatient unit, and to extend this investigation in a longitudinal design post-discharge.

Fifty-five adult inpatients with bipolar I disorder completed a neuropsychological battery, mood measures and substance abuse measures upon discharge from the hospital and at a 3 month follow up. Analyses provided group comparisons on these measures between patients who presented with co-occurrence of AD (n = 21) in the year prior to hospital admission and patients without a Substance Use Disorder (SUD; n = 34).

Compared to patients without SUD, dually-diagnosed patients scored significantly more poorly on measures of visual memory, verbal memory and executive functioning both at hospital discharge and follow-up. They also exhibited more limited recovery of these functions over the course of this period. Mood symptoms decreased in both groups from discharge to follow up.

Patients with co-occurring BD and AD may suffer from more severe cognitive dysfunction and less favorable recovery of cognitive deficits than BD patients without SUD over the course of remission from a mood episode.