Stacey McCraw1, Gordon Parker2, Rebecca Graham2, Howe Synnott3, P B Mitchell2. 1. School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: s.mccraw@unsw.edu.au. 2. School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia. 3. Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: There are commonly long delays between the onset of bipolar disorder (BP), seeking of treatment and acquiring a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Whether a longer duration of undiagnosed bipolar disorder (DUBP) leads to an inferior treatment response is unclear in the literature. METHOD: We conducted two studies with independent samples of BP patients who had received a first-time diagnosis of BP - first investigating whether DUBP was related to clinical and social outcomes at the time of assessment (n=173) and, second, whether response to mood stabiliser medication was affected by DUBP when assessed three months following assessment and intervention (n=64). RESULTS: Participants׳ mean DUBP was 18-20 years (from the onset of mood episodes). After controlling for age, a longer DUBP was associated with employment difficulties, whereas a shorter DUBP was associated with a history of engaging in self-harm behaviours, as well as a reduced likelihood of experiencing social costs as consequence of the mood disorder. The majority of study variables were statistically unrelated to DUBP. In a multivariate analysis, age was the only predictor variable to make a significant contribution to the DUBP (33%). Across the 3-month intervention period, participants improved significantly on all but one outcome measure. The participants׳ likelihood to improve, become worse or experience minimal/no change over the study period was not significantly related to the DUBP. LIMITATIONS: Self-reporting poses a risk to measurement precision. Being a naturalistic observation, no specific dose of medication was prescribed. The small sample of BP I patients provided insufficient statistical power to undertake meaningful separate analyses of the BP I and BP II participants. CONCLUSION: Early detection and intervention remains important for helping to reduce morbidity and risks associated with untreated BP. However, the variation in DUBP was mostly a function of age and did not substantially affect clinical status at assessment, or lead to an inferior response to mood stabilising medication.
INTRODUCTION: There are commonly long delays between the onset of bipolar disorder (BP), seeking of treatment and acquiring a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Whether a longer duration of undiagnosed bipolar disorder (DUBP) leads to an inferior treatment response is unclear in the literature. METHOD: We conducted two studies with independent samples of BP patients who had received a first-time diagnosis of BP - first investigating whether DUBP was related to clinical and social outcomes at the time of assessment (n=173) and, second, whether response to mood stabiliser medication was affected by DUBP when assessed three months following assessment and intervention (n=64). RESULTS:Participants׳ mean DUBP was 18-20 years (from the onset of mood episodes). After controlling for age, a longer DUBP was associated with employment difficulties, whereas a shorter DUBP was associated with a history of engaging in self-harm behaviours, as well as a reduced likelihood of experiencing social costs as consequence of the mood disorder. The majority of study variables were statistically unrelated to DUBP. In a multivariate analysis, age was the only predictor variable to make a significant contribution to the DUBP (33%). Across the 3-month intervention period, participants improved significantly on all but one outcome measure. The participants׳ likelihood to improve, become worse or experience minimal/no change over the study period was not significantly related to the DUBP. LIMITATIONS: Self-reporting poses a risk to measurement precision. Being a naturalistic observation, no specific dose of medication was prescribed. The small sample of BP I patients provided insufficient statistical power to undertake meaningful separate analyses of the BP I and BP II participants. CONCLUSION: Early detection and intervention remains important for helping to reduce morbidity and risks associated with untreated BP. However, the variation in DUBP was mostly a function of age and did not substantially affect clinical status at assessment, or lead to an inferior response to mood stabilising medication.
Authors: Rashmi Patel; Hitesh Shetty; Richard Jackson; Matthew Broadbent; Robert Stewart; Jane Boydell; Philip McGuire; Matthew Taylor Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-05-20 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Elizabeth T C Lippard; Wade Weber; Jeffrey Welge; Caleb M Adler; David E Fleck; Jorge Almeida; Melissa P DelBello; Stephen M Strakowski Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2020-11-18 Impact factor: 5.345