Background: There has been limited population-level research exploring levels of physical activity (PA) among people with BD. The aim of this study was to compare patterns of PA and its potential correlates in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) to the general population.

Methods: We used data from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey 1.2, a national, cross-sectional survey focusing on mental health (n=36,984). Self-reported PA levels were compared in individuals with BD (n=831) to those in the general population (n=31,834). We also compared sociodemographics, clinical factors, and psychological distress in inactive and active BD individuals using multivariable logistic regression.

Results: There were no differences in the proportion of subjects characterized as active, moderately active or inactive among individuals with BD compared with the general population. Psychological distress was negatively correlated with increased PA in the non-BD group (p<0.001), but this was not found in the BD group (p=0.80). No sociodemographic or clinical variables were related to PA in individuals with BD. BD status was independently associated with being overweight (OR=1.26, p=0.03). An interaction between BD status and PA was also observed (OR=1.12, p=0.005), suggesting a reduced role for PA in reducing the risk of being overweight in persons with BD.

Conclusions: These results suggest that levels of self-reported PA are not lower among people with BD than in the general population, but that the interactions between PA, psychological distress and weight may differ.