Explaining why childhood abuse is a risk factor for poorer clinical course in bipolar disorder: a path analysis of 923 people with bipolar I disorder

Marwaha, Steven, Briley, Paul, Perry, Amy, Rankin, Philip, Di Florio, Arianna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0338-2748, Craddock, Nick ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2171-0610, Jones, Ian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5821-5889, Broome, Matthew, Gordon-Smith, Katherine and Jones, Lisa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5821-5889 2020. Explaining why childhood abuse is a risk factor for poorer clinical course in bipolar disorder: a path analysis of 923 people with bipolar I disorder. Psychological Medicine 50 (14) , pp. 2346-2354. 10.1017/S0033291719002411

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Abstract

Background: Childhood abuse is a risk factor for poorer illness course in bipolar disorder, but the reasons why are unclear. Trait-like features such as affective instability and impulsivity could be part of the explanation. We aimed to examine whether childhood abuse was associated with clinical features of bipolar disorder, and whether associations were mediated by affective instability or impulsivity. Methods: We analysed data from 923 people with bipolar I disorder recruited by the Bipolar Disorder Research Network. Adjusted associations between childhood abuse, affective instability and impulsivity and eight clinical variables were analysed. A path analysis examined the direct and indirect links between childhood abuse and clinical features with affective instability and impulsivity as mediators. Results: Affective instability significantly mediated the association between childhood abuse and earlier age of onset [effect estimate (θ)/standard error (SE): 2.49], number of depressive (θ/SE: 2.08) and manic episodes/illness year (θ/SE: 1.32), anxiety disorders (θ/SE: 1.98) and rapid cycling (θ/SE: 2.25). Impulsivity significantly mediated the association between childhood abuse and manic episodes/illness year (θ/SE: 1.79), anxiety disorders (θ/SE: 1.59), rapid cycling (θ/SE: 1.809), suicidal behaviour (θ/SE: 2.12) and substance misuse (θ/SE: 3.09). Measures of path analysis fit indicated an excellent fit to the data. Conclusions: Affective instability and impulsivity are likely part of the mechanism of why childhood abuse increases risk of poorer clinical course in bipolar disorder, with each showing some selectivity in pathways. They are potential novel targets for intervention to improve outcome in bipolar disorder.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) Medicine
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press (CUP)
ISSN:	0033-2917
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 September 2019
Date of Acceptance:	19 August 2019
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 00:22
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/125200

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