Bipolar affective disorder in black and white men. A comparison of symptoms and familial illness.

Eleven black and 19 white men with conditions diagnosed as manic-depressive disease, manic type were given a systematic psychiatric interview. In addition, as many of their first-degree relatives as could be contacted were also interviewed. Demographic, clinical, and family history variables were compared for the two races. With the exception of a greater preponderance of alcoholism in the paternal relatives of the black men, few differences were found between the two groups in terms of the variables studied. It was concluded that the clinical and familial expression of bipolar affective disorder is similar in the two races.