Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1513021
This article is part of the Research Topic Bipolar Disorder and Cognition: Cognitive Decline and Dementia View all 5 articles

Impact of Childhood Trauma on Cognitive Function in Patients with Bipolar Disorder

Provisionally accepted
  • Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) frequently exhibit cognitive impairments. However, the association between childhood trauma as a risk factor for BD and cognitive deficits remains ambiguous. Objective: To investigate the relationship between childhood trauma and cognitive function among patients with BD. Methods: The study included 90 patients with BD and 94 healthy controls (HC). Childhood trauma was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and cognitive function was evaluated using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). The relationships between childhood trauma and cognitive function. Results: In BD group, childhood abuse and neglect were more prevalent than in HC group. Mood stabilizer use was positively associated with language abilities, while antipsychotic use negatively impacted attention. Emotional abuse predicted impaired immediate memory, with the number of episodes and valproate dosage negatively correlating with total RBANS scores, whereas education and mood stabilizer use showed positive correlations. Conclusions: The incidence of childhood trauma was higher among BD than HC, and different types of childhood trauma had varying effects on different aspects of cognition. These studies will deepen the understanding of the complexity of BD and support the development of more effective treatment methods.

    Keywords: Bipolar Disorder, childhood trauma, Cognition, neuropsychological assessment, Abuse and neglect

    Received: 17 Oct 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Zhou, Mao, Sun, Zhao, Li, Wang and Bo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chen-yu Zhou, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100088, Beijing Municipality, China
    Qijing Bo, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100088, Beijing Municipality, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.