This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Tyrer, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tyrer, S. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Bipolar Disorder Clinical Trials Psychotic Disorders Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

What does history teach us about factors associated with relapse in bipolar affective disorder?

Presentation at Hilton Hotel, Gateshead, 2 September 2005 at Symposium entitled Managing the aftermath of mania

Department of Psychiatry, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, s.p.tyrer{at}ncl.ac.uk

When investigating treatments for any chronic condition it is essential to know the usual course of the illness concerned. The natural history of bipolar affective disorder has only been established relatively recently. This review examines the factors that affect the course of bipolar disorder from an historical perspective. These include the affective nature of the episodes and the influence of psychotic symptoms, age at onset of illness, length of episodes and cycles, gender, ethnicity, concurrent drug and alcohol use, occupational status and factors leading to chronicity. The pioneering work of Kraepelin and Angst established that episodes of illness in bipolar disorder increased in frequency over time and that earlier age of onset predicted more frequent episodes. More recent work has established that female subjects have a later onset of illness, that the frequency of episodes often decreases over time and that rapid cycling has a poorer response to treatment. Suggested criteria for inclusion of subjects into trials examining manic relapse are listed based on the findings from earlier work.

Key Words: bipolar disorder/epidemiology • course • episodes • mania • recurrence • age of onset • retrospective studies • sex factors

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 20, No. 2 suppl, 4-11 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1359786806063070


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Franks, K. Macritchie, T Mahmood, and A. Young Bouncing back: is the bipolar rebound phenomenon peculiar to lithium? A retrospective naturalistic study J Psychopharmacol, June 1, 2008; 22(4): 452 - 456. [Abstract] [PDF]