Abstract
Introduction and objective:Age at onset in bipolar disorder is related to prognosis and to treatment response. However, it is not clear if there are three or two subgroups in relation to age at onset. The objective of this study is to analyze the number of subgroups in relation to age at the beginning of the disease in a representative sample of bipolar I patients and to compare the subgroups in relation to clinical variables. Method: We included 169 patients diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. Normal mixture analysis was performed. The subgroups of patients formed above were compared regarding clinical characteristics. Patients were followed-up during six years. Results: We found three ages at onset subgroups. The early onset group (18.2 ± 2 years) included 34% of the patients. The second group (26.1 ± 5.5 years) included 44% of the patients. The third group (50.9 ± 9.1 years) included 22% of the patients. Early and intermediate onset groups were not significantly different, and had more family history of affective disorders, more psychotic symptoms, more history of suicide attempts and more history of drug abuse history than the late onset group. Conclusions: Our results suggest that there are three groups of age at onset but early and intermediate groups are similar in relation to clinical variables. The late onset group includes almost a quartile of patients and has different clinical profile.
Translated title of the contribution | Age at onset in bipolar i disorder: Two may be better than three subgroups |
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Original language | Spanish |
Pages (from-to) | 29-34 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Revista de Psiquiatria y Salud Mental |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Preparation of this report was supported by Health Research Funds from the Spanish Government (FIS: PI052761; PI061416; RD06/0011/0014; FI05/00763, RETICS RD06/0011 (REM-TAP) Network, CIBER CB07/09/0024; EC07/90435; EC07/90666), European Regional Development Funds (FE-DER), and by local grants (200411016; 2006111025; 2007/04 and Caja Vital 2006). Dra. González Pinto has been awarded by a Specific collaborative agreement between Spanish Governement (SCIII) and Basque Government to stabilize and intensify research in the National Health System (Boe n.° 21 de 24 de enero de 2007). The research psychiatric department in Santiago Apóstol Hospital is supported by the Stanley Research Foundation (03-RC-003).
Funding
Preparation of this report was supported by Health Research Funds from the Spanish Government (FIS: PI052761; PI061416; RD06/0011/0014; FI05/00763, RETICS RD06/0011 (REM-TAP) Network, CIBER CB07/09/0024; EC07/90435; EC07/90666), European Regional Development Funds (FE-DER), and by local grants (200411016; 2006111025; 2007/04 and Caja Vital 2006). Dra. González Pinto has been awarded by a Specific collaborative agreement between Spanish Governement (SCIII) and Basque Government to stabilize and intensify research in the National Health System (Boe n.° 21 de 24 de enero de 2007). The research psychiatric department in Santiago Apóstol Hospital is supported by the Stanley Research Foundation (03-RC-003).
Funders | Funder number |
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Hospital Universitario La Fe | 2007/04, 200411016, 2006111025 |
Stanley Research Foundation | 03-RC-003 |
European Regional Development Fund |
Keywords
- Age at onset
- Bipolar disorder
- Family history
- Manic depressive illness
- Normal distribution
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health