Efficacy of cognitive remediation in bipolar disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

A significant percentage of people with bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit suboptimal functional adjustment, even when appropriately treated and after symptomatic recovery is achieved. Given that cognitive impairment is one of the strongest correlates of socio-occupational outcomes and quality of life in BD, cognitive remediation (CR) is currently acknowledged as a promising treatment that could help bridge the gap between symptomatic and full functional recovery. The aim of this review was to explore the efficacy of CR approaches in improving cognitive and functional outcomes in BD patients. PubMed, PsycINFO, and CENTRAL were searched from inception to November 2022. Randomized controlled trials exploring the effects of CR on cognition and/or functional adjustment in adult BD patients were eligible. Ten studies based on seven independent trials (n = 586) were included. Change-score effect sizes (Hedges' g) were obtained for efficacy outcome measures and combined by means of meta-analytic procedures. Small but significant overall effects were observed for working memory (g = 0.32, 95% CI 0.11-0.52), planning (g = 0.30, 95% CI 0.03-0.56), and verbal learning (g = 0.40, 95% CI 0.15-0.66). However, CR was not found to exert any significant effects on functional outcomes at treatment completion or at follow-up assessment. Although CR may modestly enhance the cognitive performance of BD patients, this effect does not translate into an improvement at the functional level. The current data do not support the inclusion of CR as a treatment recommendation in clinical practice guidelines for the management of BD.