Age at onset and gender resemblance in bipolar siblings

In order to measure the intrafamilial correlation for age at onset and to examine gender resemblance among bipolar siblings, we assessed a sample of 130 bipolar patients belonging to 59 multiple affected sibships. To study the intrafamilial resemblance for age at onset and gender, we used the intraclass correlation and the sibship method, respectively. Within the whole sample, age at onset for affected siblings was correlated (rho = 0.42, P = 0.0001). Gender was randomly distributed among bipolar sibships, demonstrating the absence of gender resemblance among affected siblings. The existence of an intrafamilial correlation for age at onset among bipolar siblings suggests that this variable may assist in the identification of more heritable forms of the illness. No intrafamilial correlation was found for the gender of affected siblings, suggesting that familial vulnerability factors are not gender-specific.