
Almost Bipolar: How to Identify Youth at Risk
Regardless of the symptoms that a child presents with, careful monitoring for hypomania is needed if the problems are significant and the parent has bipolar disorder.
RESEARCH UPDATE
There’s a new diagnostic concept in child psychiatry: The bipolar prodrome. It refers to children who are at risk for bipolar disorder but don’t have the full illness. Research in this area is gathering steam, and nearly all of it focuses on adolescents whose parent has bipolar disorder. This group clearly has an elevated risk, but what signs indicate that the risk is impending?
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh arrived at an interesting
The study’s intention was to develop a risk calculator to estimate the chance of developing bipolar disorder, just as similar risk calculators are used to assess the risks of heart attacks, cancer, and diabetes. The Bipolar Risk Calculator compared favorably with its medical cousins in terms of sensitivity and specificity. It’s easy to
The study’s take home point, however, can be put into practice right away. Regardless of the symptoms that a child presents with, careful monitoring for hypomania is needed if the problems are significant and the parent has bipolar disorder. Most first-line psychiatric medications can hasten the onset of bipolar, and a new algorithm is available to guide the treatment of this vulnerable population. More on that in our next column.
Disclosures:
Dr. Aiken is the Director of the
References:
1. Hafeman DM, Merranko J, Goldstein TR, et al.
2. University of Pittsburgh Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services. Risk Calculator to evaluate the risk to develop Bipolar Spectrum Disorders.
Newsletter
Receive trusted psychiatric news, expert analysis, and clinical insights — subscribe today to support your practice and your patients.