[Mental disorders in the parents of bipolar patients].

OBJECTIVE

It is well known that bipolar disorder has familial transmission. Studies indicate that first-degree relatives of bipolar patients also have higher incidences of other mental disorders than the general population. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of mental disorders in the parents of bipolar patients.

METHOD

Parents of 35 probands who were treated for their bipolar disorders and 35 age and gender matched healthy subjects' parents were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV (SCID-I), and a questionnaire for the parents.

RESULTS

Past and current mental disorders were present in 27.1% of the parents of bipolar patients but in 14.2% of the parents of normal controls; the difference between the groups is statistically significant. The most prevalent mental disorder in both groups is major depressive disorder. The parents of bipolar patients were more likely to have a family history of mental disorder (44.2%) than the control group (12.8%). Parents who had a current or past mental disorder were more likely to have a family history of mental disease. Offspring of in-bred families had more bipolar siblings. Bipolar children of parents who had a family history of mental disorder tended to have an earlier age of onset.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study indicate that there is an increased prevalence of bipolar disorders and other mental disorders in the parents of bipolar patients when compared to the parents of healthy controls.