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Incidence of childhood-onset bipolar illness in the USA and Europe

Department of Psychiatry, George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania

David A. Luckenbaugh, MA and Gabriele S. Leverich, MSW

Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Lori L. Altshuler, MD

University of California, Los Angeles, Mood Disorders Research Program, and VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

Mark A. Frye, MD

Department of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Trisha Suppes, MD, PhD

Department of Psychiatry, Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas

Paul E. Keck, MD and Susan L. McElroy, MD

Biological Psychiatry Program, University of Cincinnati Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Willem A. Nolen, MD

Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen (UMCG), Groningen

Ralph Kupka, MD, PhD

H.C. Rumke Groep, Willem Arntsz Huis, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Heinz Grunze, MD

Department of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg, Germany

Joerg Walden, MD

Psychiatrische Clinik, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

Correspondence: Robert M. Post, Bipolar Collaborative Network, 5415 W. Cedar Lane, Suite 201-B Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Email: Robert.post{at}speakeasy.net

Declaration of interest

None.

The relative incidence of childhood-onset bipolar illness in the USA compared with that in Europe is controversial. We examined this issue in more than 500 out-patients (average age 42 years) with bipolar illness who reported age at onset of first episode, family history, and childhood physical or sexual abuse. Childhood or adolescent onset of bipolar illness was reported by 61% of those in the US cohort but by only 30% of those in The Netherlands or Germany. In the USA there was also twice the incidence of childhood adversity and genetic/familial risk for affective disorder. The findings deserve replication and further exploration.

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From the Editor's desk

Peter Tyrer
BJP 2008 192: 160. [Full Text]