Demographic and diagnostic characteristics of the first 1000 patients enrolled in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD).
OBJECTIVE
Bipolar disorder is a severe, recurrent, and often highly impairing psychiatric disorder. The Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) is a large-scale multicenter study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to examine the longitudinal course of the disorder and the effectiveness of current treatments. The current report provides a context for interpreting studies resulting from STEP-BD by summarizing the baseline demographic and diagnostic characteristics of the first 1000 enrolled.


METHODS
The majority of the sample met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I disorder (71%). Mean age of patients was 40.6 (+/-12.7) years and mean duration of bipolar illness was 23.1 (+/-12.9) years. Among the first 1000 subjects enrolled, 58.6% are females and 92.6% Caucasian. This report compares the STEP-BD sample with other large cohorts of bipolar patients (treatment and community samples).


RESULTS
Compared with US population and community studies, the first 1000 STEP-BD patients were less racially diverse, more educated, had lower income, and a higher unemployment rate. Results are discussed in terms of the contributions of STEP-BD (and other large-scale treatment studies) in understanding the nature, treatments, and outcomes of bipolar disorder for patients seeking care at academic treatment centers.


CONCLUSIONS
The current report provides a context for interpreting future studies resulting from STEP-BD. The comparison of demographic and clinical characteristics between the samples across clinic-based studies suggests broad similarities despite the substantial differences in geography, payer mix, and clinical entry point.
Kogan
Jane N
JN
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. koganjn@ccbh.com
Otto
Michael W
MW
Bauer
Mark S
MS
Dennehy
Ellen B
EB
Miklowitz
David J
DJ
Zhang
Hong-Wei
HW
Ketter
Terence
T
Rudorfer
Matthew V
MV
Wisniewski
Stephen R
SR
Thase
Michael E
ME
Calabrese
Joseph
J
Sachs
Gary S
GS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003710:Demography; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016730:Program Development; D012042:Registries; D012720:Severity of Illness Index