Psychiatric comorbidity in patients with pediatric bipolar disorder – A systematic review

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

Documents

  • Fulltext

    Final published version, 797 KB, PDF document

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) frequently co-occurs with comorbid psychiatric disorders that may impact functioning. Objective: To review existing literature on the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity and general functioning in patients with a primary diagnosis of PBD. Methods: We performed a systematic literature search on the PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo databases on November 16th, 2022. We included original papers on patients ≤18 years with primary PBD and any comorbid psychiatric disorder, diagnosed according to a validated diagnostic tool. Risk of bias of the individual studies was assessed using the STROBE checklist. We calculated weighted means to assess the comorbidity prevalence. The review complied with PRISMA statement guidelines. Results: Twenty studies with a total study population of 2722 patients with PBD were included (mean age = 12.2 years). We found an overall high prevalence of comorbidity in patients with PBD. The most common comorbidities were attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (60%) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) (47%). Anxiety disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorder, conduct disorder, tic disorders and substance-related disorders affected between 13.2% and 29% of patients, while one in 10 had comorbid mental retardation or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The prevalence of comorbid disorders was lower in studies that assessed the current prevalence in patients in full or partial remission. General functioning was overall not specifically decreased in patients with comorbidity. Conclusions: Comorbidity across a broad range of disorders was high in children diagnosed with PBD, especially regarding ADHD, ASD, behavioral and anxiety disorders including OCD. Future original studies should assess current prevalence of comorbidities in patients with PBD who are in remission to obtain more reliable estimates of psychiatric comorbidity in this patient group. The review highlights the clinical and scientific importance of comorbidity in PBD.

Original languageEnglish
JournalActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica
Volume148
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)110-132
Number of pages23
ISSN0001-690X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, The Danish Council for Independent Research, Medical Sciences (DFF‐418‐00570), Weimans Fund, Markedsmodningsfonden (the Market Development Fund 2015–310), Gangstedfonden (A29594), Helsefonden (16‐B‐0063), Innovation Fund Denmark (5164‐00001B), Copenhagen Center for Health Technology (CACHET), EU H2020 ITN (EU project 722561), Augustinusfonden (16–0083) and the Lundbeck Foundation (R215‐2015‐4121).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

    Research areas

  • adolescent, bipolar disorder, child, comorbidity, pediatric

ID: 367843795