Effects of a Smartphone-Based Self-Management Intervention for Individuals With Bipolar Disorder on Relapse, Symptom Burden, and Quality of Life

In people with a diagnosis of bipolar I, a smartphone app for symptom monitoring and behavioral guidance (with coaching on how to use it and encouragement to do so) lowered the risk of relapse into a mood episode but only in patients who were inherently at lower risk of such a recurrence. By comparison, participants who had continuous or prodromal symptoms before the intervention did not show an intervention effect, perhaps because this group also had multiple indicators of more severe illness and more challenging life circumstances.