title: Impulsivity in children and adolescents with mood disorders and unaffected offspring of bipolar parents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increased impulsivity seems to be present across all phases of bipolar disorder (BD). Impulsivity may therefore represent an endophenotype for BD, if it is also found among normal individuals at high genetic risk for mood disorders. In this study, we assessed impulsivity across four different groups of children and adolescents: patients with BD, major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, unaffected offspring of bipolar parents (UO), and healthy controls (HC).
  
  
  METHODS
  52 patients with BD, 31 with MDD, 20 UO, and 45 HC completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), an instrument designed to measure trait impulsivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  UO displayed significantly higher total BIS-11 impulsivity scores than HC (p=0.02) but lower scores than BD patients (F=27.12, p<0.01). Multiple comparison analysis revealed higher BIS-11 total scores among BD patients when compared to HC (p<0.01) and UO (p<0.01). MDD patients had higher BIS-11 scores when compared to HC (p<0.01). Differences between MDD patients and UO, as well as between MDD and BD patients, were not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that trait impulsivity is increased among children and adolescents with mood disorders, as well as in unaffected individuals at high genetic risk for BD.
authors.affiliation: UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: Marsal.Sanches@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Marsal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanches
authors.affiliation: UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Scott-Gurnell
authors.affiliation: UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sheila C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Caetano
authors.affiliation: UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Giovana B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Zunta-Soares
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hatch
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olvera
authors.affiliation: UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Swann
authors.affiliation: UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jair C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D058068:Endophenotypes; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult