Table 3.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 74 healthy subjects and 74 BD patients stratified according to lithium treatment duration: 31 BD_LiTD-; 13 BD_LiTD+; 30 BD_NoLi.
| Characteristics | BD _LiTD- | BD _LiTD+ | BD _NoLi | HC | t, F or χ2 | df | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 44.7 (13) | 45 (11) | 42.7 (12) | 43.9 (17) | 0.11 | 3 | 0.952 |
| Males n (%) | 22 (71) | 6 (46.2) | 14 (46.7) | 42 (57) | 4.39 | 3 | 0.111 |
| Educational level (years), mean (SD) | 14.7 (3.5) | 14.3 (3) | 13.6 (3.1) | 14.8 (2.8) | 1.2 | 3 | 0.312 |
| Duration of illness (years), mean (SD) | 17.2 (10.5) | 11.5 (9.1) | 14.3 (11) | – | 0.21 | 71 | 0.319 |
| Duration of lithium treatment (months), mean (SD) | 41.4 (34) | 91.8 (63) | – | – | −3.4 | 42 | 0.0013* |
| Number of past manic/hypomanic episodes, mean (SD) | 4.1 (3) | 4.2 (3.1) | 6.31 (9) | – | 1.12 | 2 | 0.336 |
| Number of past depressive episodes, mean (SD) | 5.4 (4) | 5.9 (4) | 7 (8.9) | – | 0.46 | 2 | 0.633 |
| HAM-D score, mean (SD) | 7.2 (6.6) | 6.8 (5.6) | 8.5 (4.4) | – | 0.59 | 2 | 0.559 |
| YMRS score, mean (SD) | 3.2 (4.3) | 6.7 (5.5) | 6.2 (7.3) | – | 2.69 | 2 | 0.075 |
| Antidepressant, n (%) | 10 (32.3) | 3 (23.1) | 16 (53.3) | – | 4.56 | 2 | 0.102 |
| Antipsychotics, n (%) | 20 (64.5) | 8 (61.5) | 19 (63,3) | – | 0.04 | 2 | 0.982 |
| Benzodiazepines, n (%) | 13 (41.9) | 4 (30.8) | 12 (40) | – | 0.49 | 2 | 0.781 |
| Other mood-stabiliser, n (%) | 22 (45.8) | 9 (18.8) | 17 (35.4) | 1.935 | 2 | 0.381 |
df, degrees of freedom; SD, standard deviation; HAM-D, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; YMRS, Young Mania Rating Scale. *Statistically significant differences at p < 0.05.