BACKGROUND: More than 20% of bipolar patients may present with seasonal pattern (SP). Seasonality can alter the course of bipolar disorder. However, to date, long-term follow-up studies of bipolar patients presenting with SP are scarce. We present a 10-year follow-up study comparing clinical and demographic features of bipolar patients with and without SP. METHOD: Three hundred and twenty-five bipolar I and II patients were followed up for at least 10 years. SP was defined according to DSM-IV criteria. Clinical variables were obtained from structured interviews with the patients and their relatives. Patients with and without SP were compared regarding clinical and sociodemographic variables and a stepwise logistic regression was performed. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients (25.5%) were classified as presenting with SP, while 225 (74.5%) were considered as presenting with no significant seasonal variation. Twenty-three patients (7%) were excluded from the study because it was unclear whether they had seasonality or not. There were no differences between groups regarding demographic variables. Patients with SP predominantly presented with bipolar II disorder, depressive onset, and depressive predominant polarity. The greater burden of depression did not correlate with indirect indicators of severity, such as suicidality, hospitalizations or psychotic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our study links the presence of SP with both bipolar II disorder and predominant depressive component. However, we could not find any difference regarding functionality or hospitalization rates. Modifications in the criteria to define SP are suggested for a better understanding of bipolar disorder.
BACKGROUND: More than 20% of bipolarpatients may present with seasonal pattern (SP). Seasonality can alter the course of bipolar disorder. However, to date, long-term follow-up studies of bipolarpatients presenting with SP are scarce. We present a 10-year follow-up study comparing clinical and demographic features of bipolarpatients with and without SP. METHOD: Three hundred and twenty-five bipolar I and II patients were followed up for at least 10 years. SP was defined according to DSM-IV criteria. Clinical variables were obtained from structured interviews with the patients and their relatives. Patients with and without SP were compared regarding clinical and sociodemographic variables and a stepwise logistic regression was performed. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients (25.5%) were classified as presenting with SP, while 225 (74.5%) were considered as presenting with no significant seasonal variation. Twenty-three patients (7%) were excluded from the study because it was unclear whether they had seasonality or not. There were no differences between groups regarding demographic variables. Patients with SP predominantly presented with bipolar II disorder, depressive onset, and depressive predominant polarity. The greater burden of depression did not correlate with indirect indicators of severity, such as suicidality, hospitalizations or psychotic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our study links the presence of SP with both bipolar II disorder and predominant depressive component. However, we could not find any difference regarding functionality or hospitalization rates. Modifications in the criteria to define SP are suggested for a better understanding of bipolar disorder.
Authors: Michael Bauer; Tasha Glenn; Martin Alda; Ole A Andreassen; Raffaella Ardau; Frank Bellivier; Michael Berk; Thomas D Bjella; Letizia Bossini; Maria Del Zompo; Seetal Dodd; Andrea Fagiolini; Mark A Frye; Ana Gonzalez-Pinto; Chantal Henry; Flávio Kapczinski; Sebastian Kliwicki; Barbara König; Mauricio Kunz; Beny Lafer; Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo; Mirko Manchia; Wendy Marsh; Mónica Martinez-Cengotitabengoa; Ingrid Melle; Gunnar Morken; Rodrigo Munoz; Fabiano G Nery; Claire O'Donovan; Andrea Pfennig; Danilo Quiroz; Natalie Rasgon; Andreas Reif; Janusz Rybakowski; Kemal Sagduyu; Christian Simhandl; Carla Torrent; Eduard Vieta; Mark Zetin; Peter C Whybrow Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2012-05-21 Impact factor: 6.744
Authors: Konstantinos N Fountoulakis; Allan Young; Lakshmi Yatham; Heinz Grunze; Eduard Vieta; Pierre Blier; Hans Jurgen Moeller; Siegfried Kasper Journal: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol Date: 2017-02-01 Impact factor: 5.176
Authors: Sami Pirkola; Heidi A Eriksen; Timo Partonen; Tuula Kieseppä; Juha Veijola; Erika Jääskeläinen; Eeva-Maija Mylläri-Figuerola; Paula M Salo; Tiina Paunio Journal: Int J Circumpolar Health Date: 2015-11-19 Impact factor: 1.228