Childhood Abuse Common Among Manic Depressives

Nearly half of patients suffering from manic depression, or bipolar disorder, may have been abused as children, scientists say in a new report.

Emotional, physical and sexual abuse, or a combination of them, are linked with the condition, which causes dramatic mood swings and changes in behavior. “Our results suggest that a history of severe childhood abuse is to be found in approximately half of adults with bipolar disorder,” said Dr Joseph Goldberg, of the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York. About a third of patients in his study, which is reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry, had suffered multiple forms of abuse. Goldberg and his colleagues interviewed 100 patients who were being treated for manic depression about their childhood experiences. Patients who had been abused suffered from bipolar disorder earlier and had more severe symptoms than other sufferers. Sexual abuse was also linked to a higher risk of attempted suicide, according to the researchers. Bipolar disorder usually develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. It involves recurrent episodes of mania and depression throughout life. More than 2 million Americans suffer from the ailment in any given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Scientists are unsure what causes manic depression but, because it runs in families, they believe there is a genetic component. Patients are usually treated with the drug lithium, or other mood stabilizing treatments.(Source: British Journal of Psychiatry: Reuters Health: February 2005.)