OBJECTIVES: The primary purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation of bipolar I disorder (BP-I) as it occurs in children and adolescents and to assess whether the manifestations of BP-I were similar in both age groups. METHOD: Ninety youths between the ages of 5 and 17 years meeting full diagnostic symptom criteria for BP-I were included in this study. The diagnosis of BP-I was established for these youths based on the results of a semi-structured diagnostic interview and a clinical assessment by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The course of a subset of these youngsters' illnesses was assessed using the Life Charting Method (LCM). Data regarding the clinical presentation, longitudinal history, psychiatric co-morbidities and parental psychopathology were also obtained. RESULTS: The clinical presentation of BP-I was similar in children and adolescents. Youths meeting diagnostic criteria for BP-I developed an average of approximately 5.8 of the 7 symptoms of mania during periods of elevated or irritable mood. BP-I was found to be a cyclic disorder characterized by high rates of rapid cycling (50%) with almost no inter-episode recovery. Almost 75% of these subjects also met diagnostic symptom criteria for a disruptive behavior disorder. High rates of mood disorders were found in fathers. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the presentation of juvenile BP-I is a cyclic and valid clinical condition with manifestations on a continuum with the later-onset forms of this illness.
OBJECTIVES: The primary purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation of bipolar I disorder (BP-I) as it occurs in children and adolescents and to assess whether the manifestations of BP-I were similar in both age groups. METHOD: Ninety youths between the ages of 5 and 17 years meeting full diagnostic symptom criteria for BP-I were included in this study. The diagnosis of BP-I was established for these youths based on the results of a semi-structured diagnostic interview and a clinical assessment by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The course of a subset of these youngsters' illnesses was assessed using the Life Charting Method (LCM). Data regarding the clinical presentation, longitudinal history, psychiatric co-morbidities and parental psychopathology were also obtained. RESULTS: The clinical presentation of BP-I was similar in children and adolescents. Youths meeting diagnostic criteria for BP-I developed an average of approximately 5.8 of the 7 symptoms of mania during periods of elevated or irritable mood. BP-I was found to be a cyclic disorder characterized by high rates of rapid cycling (50%) with almost no inter-episode recovery. Almost 75% of these subjects also met diagnostic symptom criteria for a disruptive behavior disorder. High rates of mood disorders were found in fathers. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the presentation of juvenile BP-I is a cyclic and valid clinical condition with manifestations on a continuum with the later-onset forms of this illness.
Authors: Sarah McCue Horwitz; Christine A Demeter; Maria E Pagano; Eric A Youngstrom; Mary A Fristad; L Eugene Arnold; Boris Birmaher; Mary Kay Gill; David Axelson; Robert A Kowatch; Thomas W Frazier; Robert L Findling Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2010-10-05 Impact factor: 4.384
Authors: Rene L Olvera; Manoela Fonseca; Sheila C Caetano; John P Hatch; Kristina Hunter; Mark Nicoletti; Steven R Pliszka; C Robert Cloninger; Jair C Soares Journal: J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol Date: 2009-02 Impact factor: 2.576
Authors: Eric A Youngstrom; Thomas W Frazier; Christine Demeter; Joseph R Calabrese; Robert L Findling Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2008-05 Impact factor: 4.384
Authors: Benjamin I Goldstein; Michael A Strober; Boris Birmaher; David A Axelson; Christianne Esposito-Smythers; Tina R Goldstein; Henrietta Leonard; Jeffrey Hunt; Mary Kay Gill; Satish Iyengar; Colleen Grimm; Mei Yang; Neal D Ryan; Martin B Keller Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2008-06 Impact factor: 6.744