Associations between Psychotic Like Experiences (PLE) and psychiatric disorders, lack of functionality and history of abuse in the Offspring of Bipolar and Community Families.
Iria Mendez1, David Axelson2, Boris Birmaher3, Josefina Castro1, Roger Borras1; 1Hospital Clinic i Provincial de Barcelona, University of Barcelona (UB) (Spain), 2Nationwide Children's Hospital, (Columbus, OH; UE), 3Psychiatric Institute and Clinic Center (WPIC), University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) (Pittsburgh, PA, UE)
Introduction: The prevalence of psychotic-like experiences (PLE) is higher than expected in younger populations. Recent studies have highlighted their link with psychiatric disorders and the transition to full-blown psychotic disorders. Objective: To study the association between psychiatric disorders and other predictors of PLE in two non-psychotic populations, one at genetic high risk for bipolar disorders (BP) and one from a community sample. Method: PLE were evaluated at intake and during follow-up in a longitudinal cohort study of 390 offspring of BP parents and 247 from the community, ages 6 to 18 years old. PLE were examined using standard psychiatry interviews and questionnaires blind to parental psychiatric status. The sample was followed on an average of 8.3 years, with a 91.7% retention rate. All the analyses were modeled using GLMM. Results: 95 offspring reported PLE symptoms at some point of the study. There were no significant associations between PLE and family loading for Bipolar or any perinatal risk factors. The presence of any psychiatric disorders increased 10-fold the risk for PLE (OR=9.63, P=0.0001). With the exception of substance abuse disorder, almost all disorders were significant associated with PLE. In the multivariate analyses 3 factors were significant related with the onset of PLE: low psychosocial functioning (OR=6.42; P<0.0001), presence of any major psychiatric disorder (OR=3.46; P<0.01), and history of physical or sexual abuse (OR=2.99; P=0.04). Conclusions: The presence of any PLE should be conceptualized as a marker for a major psychiatric disorder, and clearly related with poor functioning and history of abuse.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research