Second-generation antipsychotic use is associated with a previous incidence of psychiatric hospitalization in patients with bipolar disorder I but not in those with bipolar II, a study by Dr. Dong Yeon Park and associates shows.
The researchers found that the use of the second-generation agents (SGAs) was twice as common in the bipolar disorder I study group. Forty-four percent of 243 bipolar I patients used at least one of the antipsychotics, compared with 21.2% of 260 patients with bipolar disorder II.
Most bipolar I patients had a history of psychiatric hospitalization; however, hospitalization was significantly more common among patients in an SGA subgroup. In that group, more than 80% of those patients had a history of psychiatric hospitalization, compared with 58.1% of patients with bipolar I who were not taking SGAs. Comparatively, 12.7% of bipolar II patients taking SGAs had a history of psychiatric hospitalization, compared with 9.3% of bipolar II patients who were not taking SGAs.
Patients with bipolar I who were on SGAs also were more likely to be currently depressed, have current complex pharmacotherapy, and have a higher Clinical Global Impression for Bipolar Version Overall Severity score. Meanwhile, bipolar disorder II patients taking SGAs were more likely to be currently using mood stabilizers than were bipolar II patients who were not taking SGAs, reported Dr. Park, of the department of psychiatry at Seoul National Hospital, South Korea.
“More research is needed to assess differential demographic and clinical correlates of current SGA use in patients with bipolar II disorder compared to bipolar I disorder. Challenges related to the variable expense and side effects of SGAs highlight the importance of increasing knowledge of the strengths and limitations of use of these agents in patients with different types of bipolar disorders,” the investigators concluded.
Find the study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.01.016).