Circadian Phase Preference in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder.

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Sleep Medicine
• Chronobiology

Background:

• Pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) incidence has increased significantly over recent decades.
• Sleep disturbances are common in BD and impact overall functioning.
• Circadian rhythm disruptions, specifically morningness/eveningness (M/E) preference, are implicated in BD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate circadian phase preference (M/E) in children and adolescents with BD compared to typically developing controls (TDC).
• To explore potential age-related differences in M/E preference within the pediatric BD population.
• To identify sleep-related factors for earlier BD detection.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study comparing 30 participants with BD and 45 TDC, aged 7-17 years.
• Utilized the Morningness-Eveningness Scale for Children (MESC) for subjective M/E preference assessment.
• Analyzed data comparing BD and TDC groups, including subgroups with comorbid ADHD.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in M/E preference were found between pediatric BD and TDC groups overall.
• Similar results were observed when comparing BD with and without ADHD to TDC.
• Adolescents with BD aged 13 and older showed a significantly greater eveningness preference compared to TDC peers.

Conclusions:

• Circadian phase preference, specifically eveningness, may emerge as a distinguishing feature in older adolescents with BD.
• Findings suggest M/E preference might be more state-dependent than trait-dependent in younger children with BD.
• Further research using objective measures is needed to validate subjective findings and explore developmental trajectories of circadian rhythms in pediatric BD.