Table 2.
Psychopharmacological treatment and course of illness in acutely admitted bipolar disorder patients with and without cycle acceleration
| Cycle acceleration | Non-Cycle acceleration | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total N* | n = 100 | 47.6% | n = 110 | 52.4% | Statistic† | P-value | |
| Current psychopharmacological treatment | |||||||
| Total number of current psychopharmacological agents, median (IQR)‡ | 207 | 3 | 2–3 | 3 | 2–3 | −0.29 | 0.77 |
| Current antidepressant, n (%) | 210 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 0.08 | 0.78 |
| Current antipsychotic, n (%) | 210 | 54 | 54 | 69 | 63 | 1.64 | 0.20 |
| Current anticonvulsant, n (%) | 210 | 78 | 78 | 73 | 66 | 3.51 | 0.06 |
| Current lithium, n (%) | 210 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 0.53 | 0.47 |
| Current anxiolytic/hypnotic, n (%) | 210 | 46 | 46 | 45 | 41 | 0.55 | 0.46 |
| At least one psychopharmacological agent ≥12 months, n (%) | 210 | 22 | 22 | 39 | 36 | 4.60 | 0.032 |
| Prior psychopharmacological treatment | |||||||
| Total number of prior psychopharmacological agents, median (IQR)‡ | 210 | 2.5 | 1–5 | 3 | 1–4 | −0.88 | 0.38 |
| Number of prior antidepressants, median (IQR)‡ | 210 | 1 | 0–2 | 0 | 0–1 | −3.94 | <0.0001 |
| Number of prior antipsychotics, mean (IQR)‡§ | 210 | 0.77 | 0–1 | 1.16 | 0–2 | −1.95 | 0.051 |
| Number of prior anticonvulsants, median (IQR)‡ | 210 | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0–1 | −1.06 | 0.29 |
| Ever prior Lithium, n (%) | 210 | 17 | 17 | 27 | 24.5 | 1.80 | 0.18 |
| Number of prior anxiolytics/hypnotics, mean (IQR)‡§ | 210 | 0.84 | 0–1 | 0.45 | 0–1 | −2.21 | 0.027 |
| Course of illness | |||||||
| Number of hospitalizations due to depression, median (IQR)‡ | 190 | 1 | 1–2 | 1 | 0–2 | −1.25 | 0.21 |
| Number of hospitalizations due to mania, median (IQR)‡ | 190 | 0 | 0–1 | 1 | 0–3 | −3.66 | <.0001 |
| Duration of illness (years), mean ± SD¶ | 205 | 24 | ±14 | 21 | ±15 | 1.37 | 0.17 |
| Early age of onset (<19 years), any affective symptoms, n (%) | 207 | 68 | 68 | 50 | 47 | 9.54 | 0.002 |
| Years from first affective episode to any medication, median (IQR)‡ | 192 | 13 | 5–20 | 9 | 0–14 | −3.72 | <0.0001 |
| Number of suicide attempts (0->4), median (IQR)‡ | 209 | 2 | 1–2 | 1 | 1–2 | −2.28 | 0.022 |
| Increasing severity of affective episodes, n (%) | 203 | 87 | 90 | 26 | 25 | 87.2 | <0.0001 |
| Rapid cycling, n (%) | 209 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 9.1 | 6.93 | 0.008 |
| Social and occupational functioning between episodes the past year, median (IQR)‡ | 209 | 3.2 | 2–4 | 2.8 | 2–4 | −2.52 | 0.012 |
| Hypomanic/manic episode induced by AD and/or alcohol, n (%) | 207 | 34 | 35 | 18 | 17 | 9.07 | 0.003 |
| Hypomanic/manic episode induced by AD, n (%) | 204 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 3.43 | 0.064 |
| Hypomanic/manic episode induced by alcohol, n (%) | 206 | 22 | 22 | 13 | 12 | 3.70 | 0.054 |
*
Statistical analyses were performed for the subsamples in this column due to missing data in some variables.
†
Statistic: Contingency tables (χ2), Mann–Whitney (z for two groups) and Independent samples t-test (t).
‡
Mann–Whitney test.
§
The mean is shown due to equal median values.
¶
Independent samples t-test.
IQR, Inter quartile range; SD, Standard deviation; AD, Antidepressant.