title: The comorbidity of anxiety disorders in bipolar I patients: prevalence and clinical correlates.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of lifetime anxiety disorders in bipolar I patients in Sanliurfa, Turkey, and to assess the association between comorbidity and several demographic and clinical variables. Seventy bipolar I patients in remission were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV axis I Disorders-Clinician Version (SCID-I-CV), Anxiety Disorder Module in order to detect lifetime comorbid anxiety disorders. Nineteen (27.1%) bipolar I patients were diagnosed with at least one lifetime comorbid anxiety disorder. The most common anxiety disorders in this sample were obsessive compulsive disorder (12.8%) and specific phobia (12.8%), followed by panic disorder (5.7%). Anxiety disorder comorbidity appears to be associated with greater number of hospitalizations, psychotic symptoms and suicide attempts in patients with bipolar I disorder. As comorbidity has a clear impact on the course of bipolar patients, special attention to this issue should be paid when interviewing bipolar patients.
authors.affiliation: Harran University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Sanliurfa, Turkey. aaltindag@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Altindag
authors.forename: Medaim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yanik
authors.forename: Melike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nebioglu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires