Table 1.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and cognitive performance of groups: LOD (n = 14), early onset BD (n = 16) and the control group (CON; n = 32). SD and range are in brackets.
| Variable | CON (n = 32) | Early onset bipolar (n = 16) | Late onset bipolar (n = 14) | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||
| Gender | 16 f/16 m | 7 w/9 m | 6 w/8 m | χ2 = 0.28. p = 0.87 |
| Age | 39.22 (10.36) | 31.12 (8.06) | 48.50 (9.63) | F = 12.06. p < 0.01 |
| Years of education | 14.86 (2.43) | 15.85 (1.84) | 15.50 (2.31) | F = 1.44, p = 0.24 |
| Handedness | All right handed | All right handed | ||
| (L: R) | ||||
| Duration of illness | – | 11.31 (8.08) | 8.86 (5.96) | F = 2.43, p = 0.36 |
| Number of maniac episodes | 10 (12.67) | 7.64 (6.15) | F = 0.40, p = 0.53 | |
| Number of depressive episodes | 13 (15.72) | 6 (5.44) | F = 2.50, p = 0.13 | |
| Total episodes | 23 (6.40) | 13.71 (11.04) | F = 1.58, p = 0.22 | |
| Age at disease onset | 19.6875 (4.14) | 39.78 (7.83) | F = 79.99, p < 0.001 | |
| Age at first psychiatric admission | 26.56 (9.47) | 40.14 (7.65) | F = 18.31, p < 0.001 | |
| Duration of disease (years) | 11.31 (8.08) | 8.86 (5.96) | F = 0.87, p = 0.36 | |
| Number of admissions | 2.37 (2.19) | 4.57 (4.43) | F = 3.08, p = 0.09 | |
| Years of medication therapy | 8.79 (8.35) | 7.75 (6.41) | F = 0.50, p = 0.71 |
All comparisons by ANOVA, except for gender: χ2 = Chi-Quadrat-Test.