title: Sensation seeking in major depressive patients: relationship to sub-threshold bipolarity and cyclothymic temperament.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  High levels of sensation seeking (SS) have been traditionally reported for lifetime bipolar disorder (BD) and/or substance use disorder (SUD) rather than major depressive disorder (MDD). Nonetheless, a renewed clinical attention toward the burden of sub-threshold bipolarity in MDD, solicits for a better assessment of "unipolar" major depressive episodes (MDEs) via characterization of putative differential psychopathological patterns, including SS and predominant affective temperament.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and eighty currently depressed cases of MDD and 87 healthy controls were screened using the Zuckerman's sensation seeking scale-Form-V, the Hypomania Check List-32-item (HCL-32), the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto-questionnaire-110-item, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11-item, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory modules and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV axis-I disorders. Cases were divided into HCL-32(+)(sub-threshold bipolar)/HCL-32(-)("true" unipolar depressed) depending on the HCL-32 total score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Upon correlation and multivariate regression analyses, the HCL-32(+) patients showed the highest levels of SS, higher prevalence of cyclothymic temperament, and higher rates of multiple lifetime axis-I co-morbidities, including SUD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recall bias on some diagnoses, including BD, grossly matched healthy control group, lack of ad-hoc validated measures for ADHD, SUD, or axis-II disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our sample, the occurrence of higher levels of SS in "sub-threshold" bipolar cases outlined a differential psychopathological profile compared to DSM-defined "true unipolar" cases of MDE. If confirmed by replication studies, these findings may aid clinicians in delivering a more accurate diagnosis and a safer use of antidepressants in some MDD cases.
authors: Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. Dott.Fornaro@gmail.com
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Fornaro
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Ventriglio
authors: Concetta
authors: C
authors: De Pasquale
authors: Maria Luisa
authors: ML
authors: Pistorio
authors: Domenico
authors: D
authors: De Berardis
authors: Carlo Ignazio
authors: CI
authors: Cattaneo
authors: Ettore
authors: E
authors: Favaretto
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Martinotti
authors: Carmine
authors: C
authors: Tomasetti
authors: Mai
authors: M
authors: Elassy
authors: Emanuela
authors: E
authors: D'Angelo
authors: Sergio
authors: S
authors: Mungo
authors: Alessandro
authors: A
authors: Del Debbio
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Romano
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Ciampa
authors: Salvatore
authors: S
authors: Colicchio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003527:Cyclothymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012677:Sensation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult