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Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and the predictors of depressive switch in patients with bipolar I disorder (BD-I) requiring the initiation or change (but not a dose change) of treatment with oral antipsychotics or mood stabilizers for mania or mixed-mania., Methods: This was a 3-month, prospective, noninterventional study conducted in 34 Italian psychiatric centers from April 2012 to April 2013. The study sample comprised 234 patients aged 18 years or older presenting with a manic episode according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Patients were assessed at baseline and at follow-up visits by a variety of measures, including the Clinical Global Impressions scale for use in bipolar illness (CGI-BP). The primary outcome measure was depressive switch, which was defined a posteriori on the basis of a Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale total score ≥ 15 and a Young Mania Rating Scale total score < 10 at week 12. A stepwise backward logistic regression model was used to explore the effect of clinical variables on the occurrence of depressive switch., Results: According to the definition used in this study, 26 (11.1%) of 234 patients switched to depression. The variables associated with a depressive switch were prescription of both first- and second-generation antipsychotics (P = .017), depressive-predominant polarity (P = .012), CGI-BP total score at baseline evaluation (P = .024), depressive temperament (P = .063), and age at evaluation (P = .020)., Conclusions: Depressive switch was observed in about 1 of 10 of the BD-I patients. Our results suggest an association between the depressive switch and treatment with both first- and second-generation antipsychotics, depressive-predominant polarity, greater severity of the symptomatology, and older age at evaluation. Further randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm possible predictors of a depressive switch during mania., (© Copyright 2020 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)

Background: current classifications of mood disorders focus on polarity rather than recurrence, separating bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the present study is to explore the possible relationships between number and frequency of depressive episodes and clinical variables associated to bipolarity, in a large sample of MDD patients., Methods: the clinical characteristics of 7055 patients with MDD were analyzed and compared according to the number and frequency of depressive episodes. Two stepwise backward logistic regression model were used to identify the predictive value of clinical features based on the presence of high number (≥3 episodes) and high frequency (≥3 episodes/year) of depressive episodes., Results: high-recurrence and high-frequency MDD patients showed greater family history for bipolar disorder, higher prevalence of psychotic features, more suicide attempts, higher rates of treatment resistance and mood switches with antidepressants (ADs) and higher rates of bipolarity diagnosis according to Angst criteria, compared to low-recurrence and low-frequency patients. Logistic regressions showed that a brief current depressive episode, a previous history of treatment resistance and AD-induced mood switches, a diagnosis of bipolarity and comorbid borderline personality disorder were the variables associated with both high-recurrence and high-frequency depression., Limitations: the study participating centers were not randomly selected and several variables were retrospectively assessed., Conclusions: even in the absence of hypomanic/manic episodes, high-recurrence and high-frequency MDD seem to be in continuity with the bipolar spectrum disorders in terms of clinical features and, perhaps, treatment response., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: This post hoc analysis of the BRIDGE-II-MIX study is aimed at evaluating affective lability (AL) as a possible clinical feature of mixed depression and assessing the relationship with atypical depressive features, particularly mood reactivity (MR)., Methods: In the BRIDGE-II-MIX multicenter, cross-sectional study, 2,811 individuals suffering from a major depressive episode (MDE; DSM-IV-TR criteria), in the context of bipolar I or II disorder (BD-I, BD-II, respectively) or major depressive disorder, were enrolled between June 2009 and July 2010. Patients with (MDE-AL, n = 694) and without (MDE-noAL, n = 1,883) AL and with (MDE-MR, n = 1,035) or without (MDE-noMR, n = 1,542) MR were compared through χ² test or Student t test. Stepwise backward logistic regression models, respectively testing AL and MR as the dependent variable, were performed to differentiate the 2 clinical constructs., Results: AL was positively associated with BD-I (P < .001) and BD-II (P < .001), with DSM-5 mixed (DSM-5-MXS) (P < .001) and atypical (DSM-5-AD) features (P < .001) and negatively associated with MDD (P < .001). In the logistic regression models, MR was the variable most significantly associated with AL and vice versa (P < .001 for both). AL was positively associated with severity of mania and DSM-5-MXS and negatively correlated with severity of depression, while MR was better predicted by atypical symptoms such as hyperphagia, hypersomnia, and leaden paralysis and correlated with both comorbid anxiety disorders and DSM-5-MXS., Conclusions: Mixed and atypical depression may lie on the same continuum. MR and AL could represent the underlying matrix, bridging the gap between mixed and atypical depression., (© Copyright 2019 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)

Objectives: The Bipolar Disorders: Improving Diagnosis, Guidance and Education (BRIDGE)-II-Mix study aimed to estimate the frequency of mixed states in patients with a major depressive episode (MDE) according to different definitions. The present post-hoc analysis evaluated the association between obesity and the presence of mixed features and bipolarity., Methods: A total of 2811 MDE subjects were enrolled in a multicenter cross-sectional study. In 2744 patients, the body mass index (BMI) was evaluated. Psychiatric symptoms, and sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected, comparing the characteristics of MDE patients with (MDE-OB) and without (MDE-NOB) obesity., Results: Obesity (BMI ≥30) was registered in 493 patients (18%). In the MDE-OB group, 90 patients (20%) fulfilled the DSM-IV-TR criteria for bipolar disease (BD), 225 patients (50%) fulfilled the bipolarity specifier criteria, 59 patients (13%) fulfilled DSM-5 criteria for MDEs with mixed features, and 226 patients (50%) fulfilled Research-Based Diagnostic Criteria for an MDE. Older age, history of (hypo)manic switches during antidepressant treatment, the occurrence of three or more MDEs, atypical depressive features, antipsychotic treatment, female gender, depressive mixed state according to DSM-5 criteria, comorbid eating disorders, and anxiety disorders were significantly associated with the MDE-OB group. Among (hypo)manic symptoms during the current MDE, psychomotor agitation, distractibility, increased energy, and risky behaviors were the variables most frequently associated with MDE-OB group., Conclusions: In our sample, the presence of obesity in patients with an MDE seemed to be associated with higher rates of bipolar spectrum disorders. These findings suggest that obesity in patients with an MDE could be considered as a possible marker of bipolarity., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)