title: The Dutch bipolar offspring study: 12-year follow-up.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Offspring of bipolar parents have a genetically increased risk of developing mood disorders. In a longitudinal study, the authors followed a bipolar offspring cohort from adolescence into adulthood to determine the onset, prevalence, and early course of mood disorders and other psychopathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Dutch bipolar offspring cohort is a fixed cohort initiated in 1997 (N=140; age range at baseline, 12-21 years). Bipolar offspring were psychiatrically evaluated at baseline and at 1-, 5-, and 12-year follow-ups. Of the original sample, 77% (N=108) were followed for the full 12 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 72% of the bipolar offspring developed a lifetime DSM-IV axis I disorder, 54% a mood disorder, and 13% bipolar spectrum disorders. Only 3% met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I disorder. In 88% of the offspring with a bipolar spectrum disorder, the illness started with a depressive episode. In total, 24% of offspring with a unipolar mood disorder developed a bipolar spectrum disorder over time. Mood disorders were often recurrent (31%), were complex (comorbidity rate, 67%), and started before age 25.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Even after 12 years of follow-up, from adolescence into adulthood, bipolar I disorder was rare among bipolar offspring. Nevertheless, the risk of developing severe and recurrent mood disorders and other psychopathology was high. Future follow-up of this and other adult bipolar offspring cohorts is essential to determine whether recurrent mood disorders in bipolar offspring reflect the early stages of bipolar disorder.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors: Esther
authors: E
authors: Mesman
authors: Willem A
authors: WA
authors: Nolen
authors: Catrien G
authors: CG
authors: Reichart
authors: Marjolein
authors: M
authors: Wals
authors: Manon H J
authors: MH
authors: Hillegers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001714:Bipolar Disorder; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence