title: Preliminary findings regarding overweight and obesity in pediatric bipolar disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Overweight/obesity is highly prevalent among adults with bipolar disorder and has been associated with illness severity. Little is known regarding overweight/obesity among youth with bipolar disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were 348 youths aged 7 to 17 years who met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I or bipolar II disorder or study-operationalized criteria for bipolar disorder not otherwise specified and were enrolled in the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Illness in Youth study. Age- and sex-adjusted body mass index was computed according to International Obesity Task Force cut points, based on self- and parent-reported height and weight, to determine overweight/obesity. The study was conducted from October 2000 to July 2006.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overweight/obesity was prevalent among 42% of subjects. The most robust predictors of overweight/obesity in a logistic regression model were younger age, nonwhite race, lifetime physical abuse, substance use disorders, psychiatric hospitalizations, and exposure to ≥ 2 medication classes associated with weight gain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of overweight/obesity among youth with bipolar disorder may be modestly greater than in the general population. Moreover, similar to adults, overweight/obesity among youth with bipolar disorder may be associated with increased psychiatric burden. These preliminary findings underscore the importance of early identification of overweight/obesity among youth with bipolar disorder. Future studies are needed to clarify the direction of the associations between overweight/obesity and the identified predictors and to compare the prevalence of overweight/obesity among youth with bipolar disorder versus other psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. goldsteinbi@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Benjamin I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Birmaher
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Axelson
authors.forename: Tina R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Christianne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Esposito-Smythers
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Strober
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Henrietta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: Mary Kay
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iyengar
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Neal D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D018692:Antimanic Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents