Heather Hower

Course of subthreshold bipolar disorder in youth: diagnostic progression from bipolar disorder not otherwise specified.

OBJECTIVE To determine the rate of diagnostic conversion from an operationalized diagnosis of bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP-NOS) to bipolar I disorder (BP-I) or bipolar II disorder (BP-II) in youth over prospective follow-up and to identify factors associated with conversion. METHOD Subjects were 140 children and adolescents recruited from clinical referrals or advertisement who met operationalized criteria for BP-NOS at intake and participated in at least one follow-up evaluation (91% of initial cohort). Diagnoses were assessed at follow-up interviews using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation. The mean duration of follow-up was 5 years and the mean interval between assessments was 8.2 months. RESULTS Diagnostic conversion to BP-I or BP-II occurred in 63 subjects (45%): 32 (23%) to BP-I (nine of whom had initially converted to BP-II) and 31 to only BP-II (22%). Median time from intake to conversion was 58 weeks. First- or second-degree family history of mania or hypomania was the strongest baseline predictor of diagnostic conversion (p = .006). Over follow-up, conversion was associated with greater intensity of hypomanic symptoms and with greater exposure to specialized, intensive outpatient psychosocial treatments. There was no association between conversion and exposure to treatment with particular medication classes. CONCLUSIONS Children and adolescents referred with mood symptoms that meet operationalized criteria for BP-NOS, particularly those with a family history of BP, frequently progress to BP-I or BP-II. Efforts to identify these youth and effectively intervene may have the potential to curtail the progression of mood disorders in this high-risk population.

Comorbid anxiety in children and adolescents with bipolar spectrum disorders: prevalence and clinical correlates.

OBJECTIVE Anxiety disorders are among the most common comorbid conditions in youth with bipolar disorder. We aimed to examine the prevalence and correlates of comorbid anxiety disorders among youth with bipolar disorder. METHOD As part of the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study, 446 youth, ages 7 to 17 years, who met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I disorder (n = 260) or bipolar II disorder (n = 32) or met operationalized criteria for bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (n = 154) were included. Subjects were evaluated for current and lifetime Axis I psychiatric disorders at intake using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children-Present and Lifetime version, and standardized instruments were used to assess functioning and family history. RESULTS Forty-four percent (n = 194) of the sample met DSM-IV criteria for at least 1 lifetime anxiety disorder, most commonly separation anxiety (24%) and generalized anxiety disorders (16%). Nearly 20% met criteria for 2 or more anxiety disorders. Overall, anxiety disorders predated the onset of bipolar disorder. Subjects with bipolar II disorder were more likely than subjects with bipolar I disorder or bipolar disorder not otherwise specified to have a comorbid anxiety disorder. After adjusting for confounding factors, youth with bipolar disorder with anxiety were more likely to have bipolar II disorder; longer duration of mood symptoms; more severe ratings of depression; and family history of depression, hopelessness, and somatic complaints during their worst lifetime depressive episode than those without anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Comorbid anxiety disorders are common in youth with bipolar disorder, and they most often predate bipolar disorder onset. Bipolar II disorder, a family history of depression, and more severe lifetime depressive episodes distinguish youth with bipolar disorder with comorbid anxiety disorders from those without. Careful consideration should be given to the assessment of comorbid anxiety in youth with bipolar disorder.

Inflammatory Markers Among Adolescents and Young Adults With Bipolar Spectrum Disorders

OBJECTIVE Despite burgeoning literature in middle-aged adults, little is known regarding proinflammatory markers (PIMs) among adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder. Similarly, few prior studies have considered potential confounds when examining the association between PIMs and bipolar disorder characteristics. We therefore retrospectively examined these topics in the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth (COBY) study. METHOD Subjects were 123 adolescents and young adults (mean [SD] = 20.4 ± 3.8 years; range, 13.4-28.3 years) in COBY, enrolled between October 2000 and July 2006. DSM-IV diagnoses were determined using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS). Clinical characteristics during the preceding 6 months, including mood, comorbidity, and treatment, were evaluated using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation (LIFE). Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were assayed. Primary analyses examined the association of PIMs with bipolar disorder characteristics during the preceding 6 months. RESULTS Several lifetime clinical characteristics were significantly associated with PIMs in multivariable analyses, including longer illness duration (P = .005 for IL-6; P = .0004 for hsCRP), suicide attempts (P = .01 for TNF-α), family history of suicide attempts or completion (P = .01 for hsCRP), self-injurious behavior (P =.005 for TNF-α), substance use disorder (SUD) (P < .0001 for hsCRP), and family history of SUD (P = .02 for TNF-α; P = .01 for IL-6). The following bipolar disorder characteristics during the preceding 6 months remained significantly associated with PIMs in multivariable analyses that controlled for differences in comorbidity and treatment: for TNF-α, percentage of weeks with psychosis (χ(2) = 5.7, P =.02); for IL-6, percentage of weeks with subthreshold mood symptoms (χ(2)= 8.3, P = .004) and any suicide attempt (χ(2) = 6.1, P = .01); for hsCRP, maximum severity of depressive symptoms (χ(2) = 8.3, P =.004). CONCLUSION Proinflammatory markers may be relevant to bipolar disorder characteristics as well as other clinical characteristics among adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder. Traction toward validating PIMs as clinically relevant biomarkers in bipolar disorder will require repeated measures of PIMs and incorporation of relevant covariates.

Borderline personality disorder in transition age youth with bipolar disorder

To determine the longitudinal impact of borderline personality disorder (BPD) on the course and outcome of bipolar disorder (BP) in a pediatric BP sample.

Irritability and elation in a large bipolar youth sample: relative symptom severity and clinical outcomes over 4 years.

OBJECTIVE To assess whether relative severity of irritability symptoms versus elation symptoms in mania is stable and predicts subsequent illness course in youth with DSM-IV bipolar I or II disorder or operationally defined bipolar disorder not otherwise specified. METHOD Investigators used the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children to assess the most severe lifetime manic episode in bipolar youth aged 7-17 years who were recruited from 2000 to 2006 as part of the Course and Outcomes of Bipolar Youth prospective cohort study (N = 361), conducted at university-affiliated mental health clinics. Subjects with at least 4 years of follow-up (N = 309) were categorized as irritable-only (n = 30), elated-only (n = 42), or both irritable and elated (n = 237) at baseline. Stability of this categorization over follow-up was the primary outcome. The course of mood symptoms and episodes, risk of suicide attempt, and functioning over follow-up were also compared between baseline groups. RESULTS Most subjects experienced both irritability and elation during follow-up, and agreement between baseline and follow-up group assignment did not exceed that expected by chance (κ = 0.03; 95% CI, -0.06 to 0.12). Elated-only subjects were most likely to report the absence of both irritability and elation symptoms at every follow-up assessment (35.7%, versus 26.7% of irritable-only subjects and 16.9% of those with both irritability and elation; P = .01). Baseline groups experienced mania or hypomania for a similar proportion of the follow-up period, but irritable-only subjects experienced depression for a greater proportion of the follow-up period than did subjects who were both irritable and elated (53.9% versus 39.7%, respectively; P = .01). The groups did not otherwise differ by course of mood episode duration, polarity, bipolar diagnostic type, suicide attempt risk, or functional impairment. CONCLUSIONS Most bipolar youth eventually experienced both irritability and elation irrespective of history. Irritable-only youth were at similar risk for mania but at greater risk for depression compared with elated-only youth and youth who had both irritability and elation symptoms.

Factors Associated With the Persistence and Onset of New Anxiety Disorders in Youth With Bipolar Spectrum Disorders

OBJECTIVE Anxiety disorders are among the most common comorbid conditions in youth with bipolar disorder, but, to our knowledge, no studies examined the course of anxiety disorders in youth and adults with bipolar disorder. METHOD As part of the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study, 413 youth, ages 7 to 17 years who met criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) bipolar I disorder (n = 244), bipolar II disorder (n = 28), and operationally defined bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (n = 141) were recruited primarily from outpatient clinics. Subjects were followed on average for 5 years using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation. We examined factors associated with the persistence (> 50% of the follow-up time) and onset of new anxiety disorders in youth with bipolar disorder. RESULTS Of the 170 youth who had anxiety at intake, 80.6% had an anxiety disorder at any time during the follow-up. Most of the anxiety disorders during the follow-up were of the same type as those present at intake. About 50% of the youth had persistent anxiety, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Persistence was associated with multiple anxiety disorders, less follow-up time in euthymia, less conduct disorder, and less treatment with antimanic and antidepressant medications (all P values ≤ .05). Twenty-five percent of the sample who did not have an anxiety disorder at intake developed new anxiety disorders during follow-up, most commonly GAD. The onset of new anxiety disorders was significantly associated with being female, lower socioeconomic status, presence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorder, and more follow-up time with manic or hypomanic symptoms (all P values ≤ .05) CONCLUSIONS Anxiety disorders in youth with bipolar disorder tend to persist, and new-onset anxiety disorders developed in a substantial proportion of the sample. Early identification of factors associated with the persistence and onset of new anxiety disorders may enable the development of strategies for treatment and prevention.

The influence of comorbid disorders on the episodicity of bipolar disorder in youth.

Bipolar disorder (BP) frequently co‐occurs with other psychiatric disorders. We examine whether course of anxiety disorders (ANX), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorders (DBD), and substance use disorders (SUD) influence likelihood of recovery and recurrence of depression and mania in BP youth.

Use of Mental Health Services in Transition Age Youth with Bipolar Disorder

Objectives. There is concern that treatment of serious mental illness in the United States declines precipitously following legal emancipation at age 18 years and transition from specialty youth clinical settings. We examined age transition effects on treatment utilization in a sample of youth with bipolar disorder. Methods. Youth with bipolar disorder (N=413) 7–18 years of age were assessed approximately twice per year (mean interval 8.2 months) for at least 4 years. Annual use of any individual, group, and family therapy, psychopharmacology visits, and hospitalization at each year of age, and monthly use from ages 17 through 19 years, were examined. The effect of age transition to 18 years on monthly visit probability was tested in the subsample with observed transitions (n=204). Putative sociodemographic moderators and the influence of clinical course were assessed. Results. Visit probabilities for the most common modalities—psychopharmacology, individual psychotherapy, and home-based care— generally fell from childhood to young adulthood. For example, the annual probability of at least one psychopharmacology visit was 97% at age 8, 75% at age 17, 60% at age 19, and 46% by age 22. Treatment probabilities fell in transitionage youth from age 17 through 19, but a specific transition effect at age 18 was not found. Declines did not vary based on sociodemographic characteristics and were not explained by changing severity of the bipolar illness or functioning. Conclusions. Mental health treatment declined with age in this sample of youth with bipolar disorder, but reductions were not concentrated during or after the transition to age 18 years. Declines were unrelated to symptom severity or impairment. (Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2013;19:464–476)

Dating Violence Victimization, Dispositional Aggression, and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Male and Female Adolescents

The objective of the current study was to characterize the association between dating violence victimization and dispositional aggression in predicting nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among psychiatrically hospitalized male and female adolescents. One hundred fifty-five adolescents (ages 13-17) and their parents completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children clinical interview to assess NSSI and child abuse; adolescents completed self-report measures of aggression and dating violence victimization (verbal, physical, and sexual). Dating violence victimization and NSSI were found to be highly prevalent among both males and females in this psychiatric inpatient sample. Two moderational models were supported, wherein dating violence was associated with NSSI in the context of elevated trait anger in males and indirect aggression in females. Findings suggest that helping victims of dating violence acquire skills to address certain forms of dispositional aggression may attenuate NSSI.

Longitudinal Associations Between Interpersonal Relationship Functioning and Mood Episode Severity in Youth with Bipolar Disorder

Abstract This study examined the longitudinal association between mood episode severity and relationships in youth with bipolar (BP) disorder. Participants were 413 Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study youth, aged 12.6 ± 3.3 years. Monthly ratings of relationships (parents, siblings, and friends) and mood episode severity were assessed by the Adolescent Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation Psychosocial Functioning Schedule and Psychiatric Rating Scales, on average, every 8.2 months over 5.1 years. Correlations examined whether participants with increased episode severity also reported poorer relationships and whether fluctuations in episode severity predicted fluctuations in relationships, and vice versa. Results indicated that participants with greater mood episode severity also had worse relationships. Longitudinally, participants had largely stable relationships. To the extent that there were associations, changes in parental relationships may precede changes in episode severity, although the magnitude of this finding was small. Findings have implications for relationship interventions in BP youth.