Characteristics of bipolar II patients with interpersonal rejection sensitivity.

The study aim was to find the characteristics of bipolar II patients with the DSM-IV atypical feature 'interpersonal rejection sensitivity' (IRS), a personality trait. A total of 145 bipolar II outpatients were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and depression rating scales. Among the variables studied (age, age at onset, duration of illness, severity, gender, recurrences, psychosis, chronicity and comorbidity), age and age at onset were significantly lower, females more common, and psychotic features less common in bipolar II patients with IRS, suggesting that bipolar II disorder with IRS was not more severe.