Bipolar offspring: a window into bipolar disorder evolution.
Children of parents with bipolar disorder (bipolar offspring) represent a rich cohort for study with potential for illumination of prodromal forms of bipolar disorder. Due to their high-risk nature, bipolar offspring may present phenomenological, temperamental, and biological clues to early presentations of bipolar disorder. This article reviews the evidence for establishing bipolar offspring as a high-risk cohort, the studies which point to possible prodromal states in bipolar offspring, biological findings in bipolar offspring which may be indicators of even higher risk for bipolar disorder, initial attempts at early intervention in prodromal pediatric bipolar disorder, and implications for future research.
Chang
Kiki
K
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Steiner
Hans
H
Dienes
Kimberly
K
Adleman
Nancy
N
Ketter
Terence
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000145:classification*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors