Bipolar II Disorder

22414177 2012 03 14 2012 04 24 1464-410X 109 7 Apr BJU Int. E22; author reply E22-4 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2012.11001_2.x Ho Christopher C K CC Eng Ho Siew HS Das Srijit S eng Comment Letter England BJU Int 100886721 1464-4096 IM BJU Int. 2012 Jan; 109(

22417069 2012 03 15 2012 03 21 1399-5618 14 Suppl 1 Mar Bipolar Disord 1-145 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2012.00976.x eng Congresses Overall Denmark Bipolar Disord

Little longitudinal research has examined progression to more severe bipolar disorders in individuals with "soft" bipolar spectrum conditions. We examine rates and predictors of progression to bipolar I and II diagnoses in a nonpatient sample of college-age participants (n = 201) with high General Behavior Inventory scores and childhood or adolescent onset of "soft" bipolar spectrum disorders followed longitudinally for 4.5 years from the Longitudinal Investigation of Bipolar Spectrum (LIBS) project. Of 57 individuals with initial cyclothymia or bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BiNOS) diagnoses, 42.1% progressed to a bipolar II diagnosis and 10.5% progressed to a bipolar I diagnosis. Of 144 individuals with initial bipolar II diagnoses, 17.4% progressed to a bipolar I diagnosis. Consistent with hypotheses derived from the clinical literature and the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) model of bipolar disorder, and controlling for relevant variables (length of follow-up, initial

Monitoring mental health treatment outcomes for populations requires an understanding as to which patient information is needed in electronic format and is feasible to obtain in routine care.|To examine whether bipolar disorder outcomes can be accurately predicted and how much clinical detail is needed to do so. RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA SOURCES, AND PARTICIPANTS: Longitudinal study of bipolar disorder patients treated during 2000 to 2004 in the 19-site Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder observational study arm (N=3168). Clinical data were obtained at baseline and quarterly for over 1 year. We fit a "gold standard" longitudinal random-effects regression model using a detailed clinical information and estimated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) to predict accuracy using a validation sample. The model was then modified to include patient characteristics feasible in routinely collected electronic data (eg, administrative data). We

It has been held that if bipolar disorder is categorically distinct, it should differentiate from unipolar depressive disorders by showing bimodality or a 'zone of rarity' in bipolar symptom scores. Two previous studies have failed to demonstrate bimodality. We undertook a third study.|A total of 1106 patients attending the Black Dog Institute Depression Clinic completed the Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ), in addition to undergoing clinical assessment by an Institute psychiatrist.|The distributions of scores for the total number of hypomanic symptoms endorsed by unipolar and bipolar patients were both skewed, with the bipolar group endorsing a high number of hypomanic symptoms and the unipolar group endorsing few symptoms--and so giving the impression of an 'even' distribution generated by two quite distinctly differing sub-groups. However, formal statistical analyses involving mixed modelling provided no clear evidence that a bimodal distribution provided a better fit to the data