Age of onset of affective illness

The age of onset of affective illness as measured by the initial psychiatric consultation for four affective subtypes was evaluated. Bipolar I (mean age = 28.00) and cyclothymics (mean age = 27.58) sought psychiatric consultation for their affective symptoms significantly earlier than unipolar patients (mean age = 34.69). Bipolar II patients (mean age = 31.54) sought psychiatric consultation at an age intermediate between bipolar I and unipolar patients. Male bipolar II patients sought psychiatric treatment significantly later than female bipolar II patients and there was a nonsignificant trend toward male cyclothymics initially seeking treatment later than female cyclothymics. In all, the range of age of onset for the four affective subtypes was quite wide suggesting that a patient was at risk for developing an affective disorder at any time from adolescence to the geriatric age range.