Validation of the Italian Version of the Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (BRIAN): Some Considerations on its Screening Usefulness

Introduction: Abnormalities in biological rhythms (BR) may have a role in the pathophysiology of Bipolar Disorders (BD). The objective of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (BRIAN), a useful tool in studying BR, and measure its accuracy in discriminating BD. Methods: 44 outpatients with DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of BD and 38 controls balanced for sex and age were consecutively recruited. The discriminant validity of BRIAN for the screening of BD and its test re-test reliability in two evaluations were assessed. Results: BD patients scored 22.22±11.19 in BRIAN against 7.13±5.6 of the control group (P Conclusion: The results show that the Italian version of BRIAN has good discriminant validity in detecting BD from healthy controls and shows good test-retest reliability. The study suggests the possibility of developing mixed screening tools by introducing items on dysregulation of biological rhythms to the usual measures of mood.