Life Goals Collaborative Care for Patients With Bipolar Disorder and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Objective

This pilot study compared Life Goals Collaborative Care (LGCC) with enhanced treatment as usual in reducing cardiometabolic risk factors and improving outcomes for persons with bipolar disorder.

Methods

Participants were randomly assigned to LGCC (N=34) or enhanced treatment as usual (N=34). LGCC included four weekly self-management sessions and monthly telephone contacts for six months thereafter. Enhanced treatment as usual included wellness mailings. Outcomes were blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), quality of life, functioning, and symptoms.

Results

Compared with enhanced treatment as usual, LGCC was not associated with reductions in cardiometabolic risk factors in 12-month repeated-measures analyses. Among patients with a BMI of ≥30 or systolic blood pressure of ≥140, LGCC was associated with improvements in functioning (beta=–2.2 and beta=–3.8, respectively, p=.04) and reduced depressive symptoms (beta=–2.0 and –3.5, respectively, p=.04).

Conclusions

Further research is needed to determine whether LGCC improves outcomes for patients with elevated cardiometabolic risk.