title: Does sex moderate the clinical correlates of pediatric bipolar-I disorder? Results from a large controlled family-genetic study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since little is known as to whether sex differences affect the clinical presentation of pediatric BP-I disorder, it is an area of high clinical, scientific and public health relevance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects are 239 BP-I probands (65 female probands, 174 male probands) and their 726 first-degree relatives, and 136 non-bipolar, non-ADHD control probands (37 female probands, 99 male probands) and their 411 first-degree relatives matched for age and sex. We modeled the psychiatric and cognitive outcomes as a function of BP-I status, sex, and the BP-I status-gender interaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BP-I disorder was equally familial in both sexes. With the exception of duration of mania (shorter in females) and number of depressive episodes (more in females), there were no other meaningful differences between the sexes in clinical correlates of BP-I disorder. With the exception of a significant sex effect for panic disorder and a trend for substance use disorders (p=0.05) with female probands being at a higher risk than male probands, patterns of comorbidity were similar between the sexes. Despite the similarities, boys with BP-I disorder received more intensive and costly academic services than girls with the same disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since we studied children referred to a family study of bipolar disorder, our findings may not generalize to clinic settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found more similarities than differences between the sexes in the personal and familial correlates of BP-I disorder. Clinicians should consider bipolar disorder in the differential diagnosis of both boys and girls afflicted with symptoms suggestive of this disorder.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wozniak
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Biederman
authors.forename: Mary Kate
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Martelon
authors.forename: Mariely
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.forename: K Yvonne
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Woodworth
authors.forename: Stephen V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Faraone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors