The relative incidence of childhood-onset bipolar illness in the USA compared with that in Europe is controversial. We examined this issue in more than 500 out-patients (average age 42 years) with bipolar illness who reported age at onset of first episode, family history, and childhood physical or sexual abuse. Childhood or adolescent onset of bipolar illness was reported by 61% of those in the...

A retrospective study was carried out including all patients who in the previous 6 years had required admission to our hospital for medical or surgical reasons following attempted suicide (n = 257). Those diagnosed as having affective disorder (n = 96), according to DSM-IIIR criteria, were compared with the other non-affective suicide attempters (n = 161). Affective patients were significantly ...

OBJECTIVE The authors describe the profile of performance of patients whose cognitive complaint is due to dementia, affective disorder, or combinations thereof on the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) test battery. METHODS Authors tested 90 subjects with dementia (63 Alzheimer disease [AD]; 27 fronto-temporal dementia [FTD]), 60 subjects with "pure" affective disorder (23 major depres...

T h e unitary concept of manic-depressive psychoses as originally proposed by Kraeplin (1921) has been questioned by recent investigators such as Leonhard (1965) and Perris (1966), who have presented clinical and genetic evidence to suggest that it is a heterogenous group consisting of two distinct types—(a) the unipolar which is characterised by recurrent episodes of depression only, and (b) t...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether events occurring at or around the time of birth contribute to the onset of psychotic illness in adult life. DESIGN-Pregnancy and birth complications as possible causes of adult mental illness were studied in the population sample of the British perinatal mortality survey. Subsequent psychiatric admissions were independently identified through the Mental Health Enqu...

BACKGROUND Despite interest in early treatment of schizophrenia, premorbid and prodromal symptomatology remain poorly delineated. AIMS To compare pre-illness symptomatology in patients at high risk of schizophrenia who progress to illness with that of high-risk subjects who remain well and with normal controls. METHOD Using Present State Examination (PSE) data, symptomatic scales were devis...

BACKGROUND Poor clinician-rated parenting outcome and observed interactive deficits in mothers with schizophrenia admitted to a psychiatric mother and baby unit (MBU) reflect continuing concerns over the parenting capacity of this group. However, little is known about whether interaction deficits are accounted for by severity of illness or adverse social circumstances typically experienced by t...