title: Distinguishing young people with emerging bipolar disorders from those with unipolar depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To facilitate early intervention, there is a need to distinguish unipolar versus bipolar illness trajectories in adolescents and young adults with adult-type mood disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Detailed clinical and neuropsychological evaluation of 308 young persons (aged 12 to 30 years) with moderately severe unipolar and bipolar affective disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost 30% (90/308) of young people (mean age=19.4±4.4yr) presenting for care with affective disorders met criteria for a bipolar-type syndrome (26% with bipolar I). Subjects with bipolar- and unipolar-type syndromes were of similar age (19.8 vs. 19.2yr) and reported comparable ages of onset (14.5 vs. 14.3yr). Clinically, those subjects with unipolar and bipolar-type disorders reported similar levels of psychological distress, depressive symptoms, current role impairment, neuropsychological dysfunction and alcohol or other substance misuse. Subjects with unipolar disorders reported more social anxiety (p<0.01). Subjects with bipolar disorders were more likely to report a family history of bipolar (21% vs. 11%; [χ(2)=4.0, p<.05]) or psychotic (19% vs. 9%; [χ(2)=5.5, p<.05]), or substance misuse (35% vs. 23%; [χ(2)=3.9, p<.05]), but not depressive (48% vs. 53%; χ(2)=0.3, p=.582]) disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young subjects with bipolar disorders were best discriminated by a family history of bipolar, psychotic or substance use disorders. Early in the course of illness, clinical features of depression, or neuropsychological function, do not readily differentiate the two illness trajectories.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Unit, Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, 100 Mallet Street, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Hermens
authors.forename: Sharon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Naismith
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Guastella
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: De Regt
authors.forename: Django
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lagopoulos
authors.forename: Ian B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Hickie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult