Table 4.
Treatment response differences between patients diagnosed with bipolar I disorder (N = 587) and bipolar II disorder (N = 221). Pearson’s chi-squared tests (or Fisher’s exact test [*]) has been used for categorical variables, Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables. P < 0.05 are shown in bold. Pairwise Fisher’s exact test was used for post-hoc comparisons of multinomial variables, using Benjamini–Hochberg procedure as false discovery rate (FDR) correction method. Pairwise significant differences (FDR-p < 0.05) between individual categories are indicated with lowercase letters. Abbreviations: M = median; IQR = interquartile range; SMD = standardized mean difference
| Bipolar I disorder | Bipolar II disorder | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium treatment response | N (%) / M [IQR] | N (%) / M [IQR] | SMD | p |
| Lithium responders | 157 (37.2) | 53 (35.1) | 0.044 | 0.717 |
| A score (improvement) | 8.00 [4.00, 9.00] | 6.50 [3.25, 9.00] | 0.161 | 0.153 |
| B1 score: number of episodes before/off treatment | 0.296 | 0.019 | ||
| 4 or more episodes | 291 (74.8) | 124 (85.5) | ||
| 2 or 3 episodes | 67 (17.2) | 17 (11.7) | ||
| 1 episode | 31 (8.0) | 4 (2.8) | ||
| B2 score: frequency of episodes before/off treatment | 0.215 | 0.128 | ||
| Average to high, including rapid cycling | 296 (76.1) | 119 (82.1) | ||
| Low, spontaneous remissions of 3 or more years | 65 (16.7) | 22 (15.2) | ||
| 1 episode only, risk not known | 28 (7.2) | 4 (2.8) | ||
| B3 score: duration of the treatment | 0.169 | 0.191 | ||
| 2 or more years | 336 (86.4) | 117 (80.7) | ||
| 1–2 years | 33 (8.5) | 15 (10.3) | ||
| Less than 1 year | 20 (5.1) | 13 (9.0) | ||
| B4 score: compliance during period(s) of stability | 0.268 | 0.062 | ||
| Excellent, e.g., documented by drug levels | 342 (88.1) | 132 (91.7) | ||
| Good, more than 80% levels in the therapeutic range | 26 (6.7) | 11 (7.6) | ||
| Poor, repeatedly off treatment | 20 (5.2) | 1 (0.7) | ||
| B5 score: use of additional medication during the period(s) of stability | 0.263 | 0.032 | ||
| None except infrequent sleep medications | 116 (29.9) | 41 (28.3) | ||
| Low-dose antidepressants or antipsychotics, or prolonged use of sleep medications | 101 (26.0) | 24 (16.6) | a | |
| Prolonged or systematic use of antidepressants or antipsychotics | 171 (44.1) | 80 (55.2) | a | |
| Total score | 5.00 [1.00, 8.00] | 4.00 [1.00, 8.00] | 0.071 | 0.522 |
| Valproic acid treatment response | ||||
| Valproic acid responders* | 18 (14.0) | 2 (4.9) | 0.315 | 0.165 |
| A score (improvement) | 7.00 [4.00, 8.00] | 5.00 [1.00, 5.75] | 0.738 | < 0.001 |
| B1 score: number of episodes before/off treatment* | 0.256 | 0.495 | ||
| 4 or more episodes | 99 (77.3) | 36 (85.7) | ||
| 2 or 3 episodes | 20 (15.6) | 5 (11.9) | ||
| 1 episode | 9 (7.0) | 1 (2.4) | ||
| B2 score: frequency of episodes before/off treatment* | 0.433 | 0.085 | ||
| Average to high, including rapid cycling | 91 (71.1) | 37 (88.1) | ||
| Low, spontaneous remissions of 3 or more years | 28 (21.9) | 4 (9.5) | ||
| 1 episode only, risk not known | 9 (7.0) | 1 (2.4) | ||
| B3 score: duration of the treatment | 0.470 | 0.018 | ||
| 2 or more years | 90 (70.3) | 23 (56.1) | a | |
| 1–2 years | 24 (18.8) | 6 (14.6) | ||
| Less than 1 year | 14 (10.9) | 12 (29.3) | a | |
| B4 score: compliance during period(s) of stability* | 0.503 | 0.063 | ||
| Excellent, e.g., documented by drug levels | 106 (83.5) | 40 (97.6) | ||
| Good, more than 80% levels in the therapeutic range | 16 (12.6) | 1 (2.4) | ||
| Poor, repeatedly off treatment | 5 (3.9) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| B5 score: use of additional medication during the period(s) of stability* | 0.507 | 0.043 | ||
| None except infrequent sleep medications | 14 (10.9) | 2 (4.9) | ||
| Low-dose antidepressants or antipsychotics, or prolonged use of sleep medications | 23 (18.0) | 2 (4.9) | ||
| Prolonged or systematic use of antidepressants or antipsychotics | 91 (71.1) | 37 (90.2) | ||
| Total score | 3.00 [1.00, 5.00] | 0.50 [0.00, 3.75] | 0.778 | < 0.001 |
| Lamotrigine treatment response | ||||
| Lamotrigine responders* | 8 (15.7) | 3 (9.4) | 0.192 | 0.517 |
| A score (improvement) | 5.00 [3.25, 8.00] | 6.00 [3.00, 7.75] | 0.037 | 0.880 |
| B1 score: 2 or 3 episodes before/off treatment (vs. 4 or more)* | 6 (11.8) | 2 (5.9) | 0.209 | 0.467 |
| B2 score: low frequency of episodes (vs. average to high)* | 5 (9.8) | 2 (5.9) | 0.146 | 0.697 |
| B3 score: duration of the treatment* | 0.245 | 0.550 | ||
| 2 or more years | 39 (76.5) | 23 (67.6) | ||
| 1–2 years | 6 (11.8) | 7 (20.6) | ||
| Less than 1 year | 6 (11.8) | 4 (11.8) | ||
| B4 score: compliance during period(s) of stability* | 0.091 | 1.000 | ||
| Excellent, e.g., documented by drug levels | 49 (96.1) | 32 (94.1) | ||
| Good, more than 80% levels in the therapeutic range | 1 (2.0) | 1 (2.9) | ||
| Poor, repeatedly off treatment | 1 (2.0) | 1 (2.9) | ||
| B5 score: use of additional medication during the period(s) of stability* | 0.223 | 0.589 | ||
| None except infrequent sleep medications | 1 (2.0) | 2 (5.9) | ||
| Low-dose antidepressants or antipsychotics, or prolonged use of sleep medications | 2 (4.0) | 2 (5.9) | ||
| Prolonged or systematic use of antidepressants or antipsychotics | 47 (94.0) | 30 (88.2) | ||
| Total score | 3.50 [1.00, 5.00] | 4.00 [0.00, 5.00] | 0.067 | 0.648 |