Negative life events remain an issue in later bipolar disorder

Negative life events remain an issue in later bipolar disorder


MedWire News: Patients with bipolar disorder have substantially more negative stressful life events (SLE) than age-matched controls, and this increased frequency continues into later life, US researchers have discovered.
There is little understanding of the full impact of SLE on the course of bipolar disorder, with the majority of studies investigating their role in early disease and few examining SLE in older patients, explain John Beyer and colleagues from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
To investigate further, the researchers administered the Duke Social Support Index, which includes a 20-item checklist of major life events within the past year, to 88 bipolar disorder patients aged 18-49 years, 58 healthy controls aged 18-49 years, 58 bipolar disorder patients aged 50-89 years, and 43 healthy controls aged 50-77 years.
The average age of the patients in each group was 35.6 years, 31.7 years, 59.3 years, and 58.0 years, respectively. The team compared the number and type of SLE among the groups, and their association with phase of illness, age of onset, and previous episodes.
Young bipolar disorder patients had experienced an average of 1.94 negative life events in the previous 12 months, while older patients had experienced 1.64 negative life events. This compared with 0.70 and 0.67 negative life events in the respective control groups.
Controlling for gender, marital status, race, education, and recent hospitalizations, the team found that both younger and older bipolar disorder patients had a significantly higher number of SLE than controls, at odds ratios of 4.91 and 4.72, respectively.
While both older and younger bipolar disorder patients experienced similar numbers of SLE in the previous year, younger patients were significantly more likely to have been recently married, began a new job, relocated, or experienced the loss of a child.
The team also notes that both older and younger depressed bipolar subjects reported more SLE in the previous 12 months than those in a manic state.
The researchers conclude in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: "These findings suggest that SLE remain a significant concern throughout the life span, and may continue to be associated with recurrences into later life."