Perinatal Mood Episodes Common in Women with Bipolar Disorder

Women with bipolar I disorder had higher risk for episodes within 6 weeks of delivery than those with bipolar II disorder or recurrent major depression.

All mood disorders tend to recur during pregnancy or the postpartum period. But does the frequency and timing of recurrences vary by type of disorder? To find out, U.K. investigators examined reports of affective episodes during and after pregnancy in 980 women with bipolar I disorder (BDI), 232 with bipolar II disorder (BDII), and 573 with recurrent major depression (RMD).

A similar proportion of women in each diagnostic group (71%–74%) reported an affective episode in pregnancy or within 6 months of delivery sometime during their lives. The risk for a mood episode within 6 weeks of delivery was significantly higher with BDI than with BDII or RMD; more than 20% of pregnancies or postpartum periods in the BDI group were accompanied by mania …

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Perinatal Mood Episodes Common in Women with Bipolar Disorder

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Reviewing Author