Validation of life-charts documented with the personal life-chart app – a self-monitoring tool for bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND: Long-term monitoring in bipolar affective disorders constitutes an important therapeutic and preventive method. The present study examines the validity of the Personal Life-Chart App (PLC App), in both German and in English. This App is based on the National Institute of Mental Health’s Life-Chart Method, the de facto standard for long-term monitoring in the treatment of bipolar disorders. METHODS: Methods have largely been replicated from 2 previous Life-Chart studies. The participants documented Life-Charts with the PLC App on a daily basis. Clinicians assessed manic and depressive symptoms in clinical interviews using the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, clinician-rated (IDS-C) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) on a monthly basis on average. Spearman correlations of the total scores of IDS-C and YMRS were calculated with both the Life-Chart functional impairment rating and mood rating documented with the PLC App. 44 subjects used the PLC App in German and 10 subjects used the PLC App in English. 118 clinical interviews from the German sub-sample and 97 from the English sub-sample were analysed separately. RESULTS: The results in both sub-samples are similar to previous Life-Chart validation studies. Again statistically significant high correlations were found between the Life-Chart function rating assigned through the PLC App and well-established observer-rated methods. Again correlations were weaker for the Life-Chart mood rating than for the Life-Chart function impairment. No relevant correlation was found between the Life-chart mood rating and YMRS in the German sub-sample. CONCLUSION: This study gives further evidence for the validity of the Life-Chart method as a valid tool for the recognition of both manic and depressive episodes. Documenting Life-Charts with the PLC App (English and German) does not seem to impair the validity of patient ratings.