title: Frequency of positive family history in bipolar patients in a catchment-area population.
abstract: 1. Major family studies of bipolar disorder report the frequency of affective disorder among probands' relatives, but do not usually report the frequency of a positive family history among probands. A single previous study was not population based. 2. The Division of Psychiatry of Ben Gurion University provides virtually all psychiatric services for a catchment area of 300,000 people. The authors reviewed the charts of all 236 treated bipolar I patients in 1991, and interviewed 177 of them with a modified FH-RDC. 3. 48% of probands had a family history of mental illness. 4. However, the present methods of ascertainment may have been insufficiently sensitive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lerer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Belmaker
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D005190:Family; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data