Obstetrical complications in children at high risk for bipolar disorder.
OBJECTIVE
To examine obstetrical complications as a risk factor for developing bipolar disorder (BPD). We hypothesized that children with a bipolar parent would be at greater risk for obstetrical complications than demographically matched children of healthy adults. Additionally, within this "at-risk" (AR) sample, we hypothesized that obstetrical complications would be associated with the development of psychiatric disorders.


METHODS
The Washington University in St. Louis Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (WASH-U KSADS) was administered to children (AR) who had at least one parent with BPD (N=36) and children of healthy parents (HC) (N=27), by raters who were blind to diagnostic category. To assess obstetrical risk history, the Rochester Research Obstetrical Scale (ROS) was administered to parents of AR and HC children.


RESULTS
Children at familial risk for BPD had greater total (p=0.02) and prenatal (p=0.006) obstetrical complication scores than children of healthy parents. However, obstetrical complications were not associated with the development of affective, anxiety, or disruptive behavioral disorders within the at-risk group.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that compared with children of families without BPD, children of parents with BPD may be at greater risk for obstetrical complications, particularly those that occur during the prenatal period; however, at this early follow-up period factors other than obstetrical complications appear to contribute to the differences in rates of psychiatric disorders between these groups.
Singh
Manpreet K
MK
Center for Bipolar Disorders Research, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0559, United States. Manpreet.Singh@cchmc.org
DelBello
Melissa P
MP
Soutullo
Cesar
C
Stanford
Kevin E
KE
McDonough-Ryan
Patricia
P
Strakowski
Stephen M
SM
D000293:Adolescent; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D013223:Statistics as Topic