Bipolar Spectrum Disorder May Be Associated With Family History of Diseases

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Genetics
• Clinical Neuroscience

Background:

• Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex mental health condition with a significant genetic component.
• Understanding the familial aggregation of physical diseases in BD patients is crucial for comprehensive patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of specific physical diseases (diabetes, ischemic heart disease, thyroid disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy) in the family history of bipolar disorder patients.
• To explore potential correlations between family history of these diseases and specific BD phenotypes or comorbidities.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 1,148 bipolar disorder patients diagnosed per DSM-V.
• Informed consent obtained; patients evaluated between January 2018 and January 2020.
• Detailed family history assessment for first- and second-degree relatives regarding target physical diseases.

Main Results:

• Family histories revealed higher frequencies of diabetes, ischemic heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, and epilepsy compared to the patients themselves.
• A significant correlation was observed between a family history of epilepsy and bipolar disorder with psychotic features.
• Family history of diabetes correlated with a seasonal course of BD, and family history of thyroid disease correlated with comorbid anxiety disorder.

Conclusions:

• This study provides novel insights into the frequency of physical diseases in the familial background of bipolar disorder patients.
• Findings suggest potential shared genetic or environmental pathways between certain physical diseases and bipolar disorder.
• Future therapeutic strategies may benefit from targeting stress and neural circuits implicated in the pathophysiology, rather than solely focusing on symptom-associated pathways.