Objective: This study examined clinical differences between subjects with early-onset and adult-onset psychotic mania.
Method: Subjects were from an epidemiologically derived, hospitalized sample who met criteria for definite bipolar disorder after 24 months of follow-up and whose index episode had been manic. Information collected regarding demographic characteristics, psychotic and depressive symptoms, childhood behavior problems and school functioning, substance/alcohol use disorders, and episode recurrence for two subgroups were compared: those whose illness first emerged before age 21 (early onset) (N=23) and those whose first episode occurred after age 30 (adult onset) (N=30).
Results: A larger proportion of the early-onset subjects were male, had childhood behavior disorders, had substance abuse comorbidity, exhibited paranoia, and experienced complete episode remission less frequently during 24-month follow-up than the adult-onset subjects.
Conclusions: These data add to the body of evidence that has suggested that many subjects with early-onset psychotic mania have a more severe and developmentally complicated subtype of bipolar disorder.