@article{ref1,
title="Familial load of psychiatric disorders and overall functioning in patients newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives",
journal="International journal of bipolar disorders",
year="2022",
author="Sletved, K.S.O. and Maiggaard, K. and Thorup, A.A.E. and Kessing, L.V. and Vinberg, M.",
volume="10",
number="1",
pages="-",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Overall functioning is already impaired in patients newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) and, to a lesser degree, also in their unaffected first-degree relatives (UR). Further, aggregation of psychiatric disorders among the patients' first-degree relatives seems to be associated with higher illness burden and poorer prognosis. However, whether this aggregation of psychiatric disorders among first-degree relatives, the familial load (FL), impacts overall functioning in patients newly diagnosed with BD and their UR remains unresolved. <br><br>METHODS: In total, 388 patients newly diagnosed with BD, 144 of their UR and 201 healthy control individuals were included. Overall functioning was assessed using three different assessment methods: The interviewer based &quot;Functioning Assessment Short Test&quot; (FAST), the questionnaire &quot;Work and Social Adjustment Scale&quot; (WSAS) and six outcome measures covering the participants' socio-economic status (SES); educational achievement, employment, work ability, relationship, cohabitation and marital status. Familial load of psychiatric disorder was assessed using the &quot;Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria&quot; interview. Associations between FL and overall functioning in patients and UR were investigated categorically using logistic and continuously in linear regression models. <br><br>RESULTS: Contrasting with the hypotheses, the FL of psychiatric disorders was not associated with impaired overall functioning, neither in patients newly diagnosed with BD nor in their UR. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that impaired functioning in the early phase of BD is not associated with aggregation of psychiatric disorders among first-degree relatives. The observed functional impairment in patients newly diagnosed with BD seems driven by the personal impact of the disorder rather than the impact of having first-degree relatives with psychiatric disorders. <br><br>KEYWORDS: bipolar disorder, first-degree relatives, familial load of psychiatric disorders, functioning, socio-economic status. © 2022, The Author(s).<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2194-7511",
doi="10.1186/s40345-022-00277-1",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40345-022-00277-1"
}