Preferential association between childhood emotional abuse and bipolar disorder

Childhood trauma has been suggested to be involved in the susceptibility to bipolar disorder. However, case-control studies are lacking, and the preferential implication and the dose-effect of different trauma subtypes remain poorly investigated. Two hundred six bipolar patients and 94 controls completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 1994). The CTQ total score was higher for bipolar patients than for controls. The presence of multiple trauma was significantly more frequent in bipolar patients than in controls (63% vs. 33%). Multiple logistic regression suggested that only emotional abuse was associated with bipolar disorder with a suggestive dose-effect. Clinical practice should include systematic assessment of childhood trauma among bipolar patients with a particular focus on emotional abuse.