The comorbidity of anxiety disorders in bipolar I patients: prevalence and clinical correlates.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of lifetime anxiety disorders in bipolar I patients in Sanliurfa, Turkey, and to assess the association between comorbidity and several demographic and clinical variables. Seventy bipolar I patients in remission were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV axis I Disorders-Clinician Version (SCID-I-CV), Anxiety Disorder Module in order to detect lifetime comorbid anxiety disorders. Nineteen (27.1%) bipolar I patients were diagnosed with at least one lifetime comorbid anxiety disorder. The most common anxiety disorders in this sample were obsessive compulsive disorder (12.8%) and specific phobia (12.8%), followed by panic disorder (5.7%). Anxiety disorder comorbidity appears to be associated with greater number of hospitalizations, psychotic symptoms and suicide attempts in patients with bipolar I disorder. As comorbidity has a clear impact on the course of bipolar patients, special attention to this issue should be paid when interviewing bipolar patients.