Abstract

ZAVALETA-RAMIREZ, Patricia et al. Comparative study of psychopathology among bipolar offsprings. Salud Ment [online]. 2014, vol.37, n.6, pp.477-482. ISSN 0185-3325.

Background The offspring of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) constitute a high risk population for multiple psychiatric disorders that require an early systematic evaluation and longitudinal follow up. Objective To describe and compare the psychopathology profile in children and adolescents who are offsprings of parents with BD versus offspring of non-BD parents from a community sample. Material and methods Parents were evaluated with the Mini International Diagnostic Interview (MINI). Based on the results of the interview, two groups were created: parents with or without BD. Offspring evaluation was carried out with the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). The functioning was evaluated with the Clinical Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS). Results Ninety-three percent of the bipolar parents' offspring had a long life psychiatric disorder. Externalizing disorders were the most frequent (81%). BD parents' offspring showed higher risk for externalizing disorder (RM=4.44; IC=95%; 1.43-13.84) and for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (RM=4.44; IC=95%; 1.43-13.84; p=.01) and oppositional defiant disorder (RM=3.06; IC=95%; 1.05-8.93). Conclusions Bipolar parents' offspring have a higher prevalence for psychiatric disorders, especially in the externalized area. The longitudinal course of early onset psychopathology suggests that this population requires early diagnostic and strategies of treatment to change the trajectories of these disabling chronic disorders.

Keywords : Bipolar disorder; offspring; psychopathology.