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Influence of atypical features on the quality of prophylactic effectiveness of long‐term lithium treatment in bipolar disorders
Author(s) -
Pfennig Andrea,
Schlattmann Peter,
Alda Martin,
Grof Paul,
Glenn Tasha,
MüllerOerlinghausen Bruno,
Suwalska Aleksandra,
Rybakowski Janusz,
Willich Stefan N,
Bauer Michael,
Berghöfer Anne
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
bipolar disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.285
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1399-5618
pISSN - 1398-5647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2010.00826.x
Subject(s) - bipolar disorder , lithium (medication) , mood , hazard ratio , proportional hazards model , mood disorders , psychology , mood stabilizer , cohort , term (time) , psychiatry , medicine , pediatrics , clinical psychology , anxiety , confidence interval , physics , quantum mechanics
Pfennig A, Schlattmann P, Alda M, Grof P, Glenn T, Müller‐Oerlinghausen B, Suwalska A, Rybakowski J, Willich SN, Bauer M, Berghöfer A. Influence of atypical features on the quality of prophylactic effectiveness of long‐term lithium treatment in bipolar disorders.
Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 390–396. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives: There is still debate about whether the quality of long‐term efficacy of lithium in patients with bipolar disorders is influenced by atypical features. Extended Cox regression models allow for the use of all follow‐up data on diseases with multiple episodes. The aim of the present analysis was to apply the best suited of these models to analyze the influence of atypical features on the widely used outcome measure of time to recurrence in a large multicenter cohort of lithium responders established by the International Group for the Study of Lithium Treated Patients. Methods: A conditional extended Cox model with a random frailty term was applied to the data of 336 bipolar I and II disorder patients, all of whom were responders to lithium with treatment for up to 30 years. Results: Differences were found in the long‐term outcome, even in patients who have demonstrated a relatively good response to lithium treatment. The hazard for recurrence was negatively influenced by the presence of atypical features, mainly mood‐incongruent psychotic symptoms, interepisodic residual symptomatology, and rapid cycling. Conclusions: As a result of the findings, physicians should regularly reassess the quality of response in bipolar disorder patients with atypical features and, if necessary, modify treatment. Extended Cox regression models are well suited for evaluating long‐term outcome and should be used more extensively to analyze treatment outcome in psychiatric and somatic disorders.