OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors associated with the occurrence of mixed episodes, characterized by the presence of concomitant symptoms of both affective poles, during the course of illness in bipolar I disorder patients treated with an antidepressant, as well as the role of antidepressants in the course and outcome of the disorder. METHOD: We enrolled a sample of 144 patients followed for up to 20 years in the referral Barcelona Bipolar Disorder Program and compared subjects who had experienced at least one mixed episode during the follow-up (n=60) with subjects who had never experienced a mixed episode (n=84) regarding clinical variables. RESULTS: Nearly 40% of bipolar I disorder patients treated with antidepressants experienced at least one mixed episode during the course of their illness; no gender differences were found between two groups. Several differences regarding clinical variables were found between the two groups, but after performing logistic regression analysis, only suicide attempts (p<0.001), the use of serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (p=0.041), switch rates (p=0.010), and years spent ill (p=0.022) were significantly associated with the occurrence of at least one mixed episode during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of mixed episodes is associated with a tendency to chronicity, with a poorer outcome, a higher number of depressive episodes, and greater use of antidepressants, especially serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors associated with the occurrence of mixed episodes, characterized by the presence of concomitant symptoms of both affective poles, during the course of illness in bipolar I disorderpatients treated with an antidepressant, as well as the role of antidepressants in the course and outcome of the disorder. METHOD: We enrolled a sample of 144 patients followed for up to 20 years in the referral Barcelona Bipolar Disorder Program and compared subjects who had experienced at least one mixed episode during the follow-up (n=60) with subjects who had never experienced a mixed episode (n=84) regarding clinical variables. RESULTS: Nearly 40% of bipolar I disorderpatients treated with antidepressants experienced at least one mixed episode during the course of their illness; no gender differences were found between two groups. Several differences regarding clinical variables were found between the two groups, but after performing logistic regression analysis, only suicide attempts (p<0.001), the use of serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (p=0.041), switch rates (p=0.010), and years spent ill (p=0.022) were significantly associated with the occurrence of at least one mixed episode during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of mixed episodes is associated with a tendency to chronicity, with a poorer outcome, a higher number of depressive episodes, and greater use of antidepressants, especially serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.
Authors: Isabella Pacchiarotti; David J Bond; Ross J Baldessarini; Willem A Nolen; Heinz Grunze; Rasmus W Licht; Robert M Post; Michael Berk; Guy M Goodwin; Gary S Sachs; Leonardo Tondo; Robert L Findling; Eric A Youngstrom; Mauricio Tohen; Juan Undurraga; Ana González-Pinto; Joseph F Goldberg; Ayşegül Yildiz; Lori L Altshuler; Joseph R Calabrese; Philip B Mitchell; Michael E Thase; Athanasios Koukopoulos; Francesc Colom; Mark A Frye; Gin S Malhi; Konstantinos N Fountoulakis; Gustavo Vázquez; Roy H Perlis; Terence A Ketter; Frederick Cassidy; Hagop Akiskal; Jean-Michel Azorin; Marc Valentí; Diego Hidalgo Mazzei; Beny Lafer; Tadafumi Kato; Lorenzo Mazzarini; Anabel Martínez-Aran; Gordon Parker; Daniel Souery; Ayşegül Ozerdem; Susan L McElroy; Paolo Girardi; Michael Bauer; Lakshmi N Yatham; Carlos A Zarate; Andrew A Nierenberg; Boris Birmaher; Shigenobu Kanba; Rif S El-Mallakh; Alessandro Serretti; Zoltan Rihmer; Allan H Young; Georgios D Kotzalidis; Glenda M MacQueen; Charles L Bowden; S Nassir Ghaemi; Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo; Janusz Rybakowski; Kyooseob Ha; Giulio Perugi; Siegfried Kasper; Jay D Amsterdam; Robert M Hirschfeld; Flávio Kapczinski; Eduard Vieta Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2013-11 Impact factor: 18.112