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Interval between symptom onset and hospitalization in mania

A Francis1, P Gasparo

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, SUNY Stony Brook 11794-8101.

Insights

This study found a unimodal distribution for hospital latency in mania, averaging 3.3 weeks. Younger patients with shorter psychiatric histories experienced shorter intervals between mania symptom onset and hospitalization.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Bipolar Disorder Research

Background:

  • Previous research on mania onset lacked detailed frequency distributions for hospital latency.
  • A bimodal distribution for illness onset in mania has been suggested but not confirmed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the frequency distribution of hospital latency in patients hospitalized for mania.
  • To identify characteristics associated with short hospital latency.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of hospital latency in 100 patients admitted for mania.
  • Comparison of patient demographics and psychiatric history between short and long latency groups.

Main Results:

  • A unimodal distribution was observed for hospital latency.
  • The mean hospital latency was 3.3 weeks (± 3.2 weeks).
  • Patients with short latency (< 1 week) were younger and had briefer psychiatric histories.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides a frequency distribution for hospital latency in mania, refuting previous suggestions of bimodality.
  • Younger age and shorter psychiatric history are associated with rapid hospitalization following mania symptom onset.

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