Trajectories of Emergent Bipolar Disorder in High-Risk Offspring

People whose parents have bipolar disorders are at elevated risk for these disorders. For a more detailed understanding, Canadian investigators followed 279 offspring of parents with bipolar I or II disorder (age at enrollment, 16; largely middle or upper-middle class; intact families, 78%; physical or sexual childhood abuse, 17%) and 87 controls; 117 bipolar parents were lithium-responsive, and 162 were nonresponsive.

Offspring were examined prospectively, approximately annually, for an average of 8 years. Lithium-responsive parents had higher rates of complete remission than nonresponsive parents, less comorbid substance abuse, and marginally lower rates of anxiety disorders and lifetime psychotic symptoms. During follow-up, incidence of b…