Childhood Adversity May Increase Comorbidity Risk In BD Patients.

Medwire (1/29, Davenport) reports, “Childhood adversity, including verbal, physical, or sexual abuse, is associated with the later development of multiple medical comorbidities in patients with bipolar disorder,” according to a study published online Jan. 18 in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The researchers from the Bipolar Collaborative Network in Bethesda, Maryland, administered questionnaires related to all types of childhood abuse, parental history of substance abuse or mood disorders, and suicidality to 904 individuals with bipolar disorder. They determined that the “most common medical conditions were allergies, migraine, headache, and head injury, which were found in 22.0%-37.2% of patients.” The results also indicated that the “prevalence of 16 medical conditions was significantly increased with increasing tCAS score, and included allergies, arthritis, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic menstrual irregularities, fibromyalgia, head injury without loss of consciousness, hypertension, hypotension, irritable bowel syndrome and migraine headache.”

Related Links:

— “Childhood adversity raises comorbidity risk in bipolar disorder,”Liam Davenport, Medwire News, January 29, 2013.

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