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Distinguishing bipolar depression from unipolar depression is of considerable clinical value. Might further subtyping of bipolar depressive episodes yield additional benefits? To find out, Australian investigators used latent class analysis, a statistical technique searching large numbers of variables for underlying clusters of phenomena. Data on 243 depressed patients with bipolar I or bipolar II disorder were analyzed (mean age, 39; 62% women).
Two robust solutions emerged, one suggesting three distinct classes (subtypes) and the other suggesting two. No meaningful differences distinguished bipolar type 1 from type 2. In the three-subtype solution, possible characteristics were identified as:
Subtype 1 (28.9% of patients): hypersomnia, incr…