Prevalence, clinical correlates and factors associated with course and outcome of anxiety disorders in youth with bipolar disorders

• Autores: Regina Sala Cassola
• Directores de la Tesis: Josefina Castro Fornieles (dir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat de Barcelona ( España ) en 2011
• Idioma: inglés
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Josefa Canals Sans (presid.), Maria Luisa Lazaro Garcia (secret.), Josep Toro Trallero (voc.)
• Materias:
  • Ciencias médicas
    • Psiquiatría
• Enlaces
  • Tesis en acceso abierto en:  TDX  Dipòsit Digital de la UB  TESEO 
• Resumen

  • OBJECTIVE: Anxiety disorders are among the most common comorbid conditions in youth with bipolar disorder (BP). We aimed to examine the prevalence, correlates, persistence (>50% of the follow-up time), and the onset of new anxiety disorders in youth with comorbid anxiety disorders and BP. METHODS: As part of the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study (COBY), 446 youth ages 7 to 17, who met DSM-IV criteria for BP-I (n=260), BP-II (n=32) or operationalized criteria for BP not otherwise specified (BP-NOS; n=154) were included. Subjects were evaluated for current and lifetime Axis-I psychiatric disorders at intake using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children–Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL), and standardized instruments to assess functioning and family history. Subjects were followed on average 5 years using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation. RESULTS: Forty-four percent (n=194) of the sample met DSM-IV criteria for at least one lifetime anxiety disorder, most commonly separation anxiety (24%) and generalized anxiety disorders (16%). Nearly 20% met criteria for two or more anxiety disorders. Overall, anxiety disorders predated the onset of BP. BP-II subjects were more likely than BP-I or BP-NOS subjects to have a comorbid anxiety disorder. After adjusting for confounding factors, BP youth with anxiety were more likely to have BP-II, 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. 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?0.05). 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. New onsets were 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?0.05) CONCLUSIONS: Comorbid anxiety disorders are common in youth with BP, and most often predate BP onset. BP-II, a family history of depression, and more severe lifetime depressive episodes distinguish BP youth with comorbid anxiety disorders from those without. In addition, anxiety disorders in youth with BP tend to persist and new anxiety disorders onset in a substantial proportion of the sample. Careful consideration should be given to the assessment of comorbid anxiety in BP youth. Furthermore, early identification of factors associated with the persistence and onset of new anxiety disorders may enable the development of strategies for treatment and prevention.