Age Effects in Manic Symptoms in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder

Age Effects in Manic Symptoms in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Public Deposited

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Creator

Freeman, Andrew J.
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Abstract

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) remains a controversial diagnosis due in part to questions about the developmental appropriateness of manic symptoms. Three phenotypes have been proposed that differentially place importance on episodes, irritability, and elated mood/grandiosity. Participants were 1,395 outpatients (845 males) ages 5-17 years presenting from a mood disorders clinic or a community mental health clinic. Factor mixture modeling did not support developmentally distinct phenotypes. Confirmatory factor analysis with age as a covariate indicated small differences in ages. Regression analyses predicting comorbid diagnoses and CBCL subscales also displayed age differences. Limitations include that the sample is non-representative of outpatient clinics or epidemiological settings and symptom ratings were completed by the same caregiver. These findings affirm similar clinical presentations of manic symptoms across childhood and adolescence with different patterns of comorbidity.

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