Rapid cycling as a feature of bipolar disorder and comorbid migraine

Association of Occupational Dysfunction and Hospital Admissions With Different Polygenic Profiles in Bipolar Disorder

OBJECTIVE

Many but not all persons with bipolar disorder require hospital care because of severe mood episodes. Likewise, some but not all patients experience long-term occupational dysfunction that extends beyond acute mood episodes. It is not known whether these dissimilar outcomes of bipolar disorder are driven by different polygenic profiles. Here, polygenic scores (PGSs) for major psychiatric disorders and educational attainment were assessed for associations with occupational functioning and psychiatric hospital admissions in bipolar disorder.

METHODS

A total of 4,782 patients with bipolar disorder and 2,963 control subjects were genotyped and linked to Swedish national registers. Longitudinal measures from at least 10 years of registry data were used to derive percentage of years without employment, percentage of years with long-term sick leave, and mean number of psychiatric hospital admissions per year. Ordinal regression was used to test associations between outcomes and PGSs for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and educational attainment. Replication analyses of hospital admissions were conducted with data from the Bipolar Disorder Research Network cohort (N=4,219).

RESULTS

Long-term sick leave and unemployment in bipolar disorder were significantly associated with PGSs for schizophrenia, ADHD, major depressive disorder, and educational attainment, but not with the PGS for bipolar disorder. By contrast, the number of hospital admissions per year was associated with higher PGSs for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but not with the other PGSs.

CONCLUSIONS

Bipolar disorder severity (indexed by hospital admissions) was associated with a different polygenic profile than long-term occupational dysfunction. These findings have clinical implications, suggesting that mitigating occupational dysfunction requires interventions other than those deployed to prevent mood episodes.

Current Status and Treatment of Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder

BACKGROUND

Rapid cycling (RC) at least 4 recurrent episodes per year in bipolar disorder (BD) has been recognized since the 1970s. We now comment on our recent review of the topic and extensive RC analysis in a large clinical cohort, emphasizing therapeutics research.

COMMENTS

Prevalence of RC-BD averages 36% for any year versus 22% in the preceding year. Rapid cycling is not a consistent feature over many years, although average long-term, annual recurrence rates are greater in RC-BD patients. Risk of RC may be somewhat greater among women and with older ages. It is also associated with cyclothymic temperament, prominent depression, and mood-switching with antidepressant treatment and is associated with increased suicidal risk. Treatment of individual episodes in RC-BD and effective long-term prevention remain inadequately studied, although antidepressant treatment can worsen RC. Some research supports treatment with aripiprazole, lamotrigine, and lithium, and interest in second-generation antipsychotics is emerging. All such options are used in various inadequately evaluated combinations.

CONCLUSIONS

Rapid cycling is prevalent among BD patients but seems to vary in risk over time without evidence of progressive worsening. Treatment of acute episodes in RC-BD patients and effective long-term preventive management require much more intensive investigation.

Key subphenotypes of bipolar disorder are differentially associated with polygenic liabilities for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) features heterogenous clinical presentation and course of illness. It remains unclear how subphenotypes associate with genetic loadings of BD and related psychiatric disorders. We investigated associations between the subphenotypes and polygenic risk scores (PRS) for BD, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder (MDD) in two BD cohorts from Sweden (N = 5180) and the UK (N = 2577). Participants were assessed through interviews and medical records for inter-episode remission, psychotic features during mood episodes, global assessment of functioning (GAF, function and symptom burden dimensions), and comorbid anxiety disorders. Meta-analyses based on both cohorts showed that inter-episode remission and GAF-function were positively correlated with BD-PRS but negatively correlated with schizophrenia-PRS (SCZ-PRS) and MDD-PRS. Moreover, BD-PRS was negatively, and MDD-PRS positively, associated with the risk of comorbid anxiety disorders. Finally, SCZ-PRS was positively associated with psychotic symptoms during mood episodes. Assuming a higher PRS of certain psychiatric disorders in cases with a positive family history, we further tested the associations between subphenotypes in index BD people and occurrence of BD, schizophrenia, or MDD in their relatives using Swedish national registries. BD patients with a relative diagnosed with BD had: (1) higher GAF and lower risk of comorbid anxiety than those with a relative diagnosed with schizophrenia or MDD, (2) lower risk of psychotic symptoms than those with a relative diagnosed with schizophrenia. Our findings shed light on the genetic underpinnings of the heterogeneity in clinical manifestations and course of illness in BD, which ultimately provide insights for developing personalized approaches to the diagnosis and treatment.

Association among general health, personality traits, and headache severity in patients with migraine

Background

Because migraine is a common headache, finding ways to approach it better would be useful. So, studying the relation of dimensions of general health and personality types and pain severity in patients with migraine will be useful for fulfilling this aim.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, the number of patients with migraine headache studied in this study was 170. The checklists used in this study were migraine disability assessment (MIDAS), visual analog scale (VAS), Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness (NEO FFI), and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28).

Results

The average scores of general health dimensions in migraine sufferers with aura were higher than in migraine patients without aura. But this difference was significant only in the index of physical symptoms (P=0.02). There was a negative correlation between pain intensity and general health dimensions but it was not statistically significan. A positive correlation was observed between headache intensity and extroversion, which was significant (r=0.18 and P=0.01). The score of physical symptoms increases significantly with the increase of disability severity (P=0.007).

Conclusion

According to the results, the severity of migraine disability, general health dimensions, and personality types in patients with and without Aura was not different. Also, general health dimensions and personality types were not associated with pain intensity and the severity of migraine disability.

Migraine in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia: The hidden pain

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the prevalence of comorbid migraine in patients with bipolar disorder and those with schizophrenia and also examined the association between migraine comorbidity and disease characteristics in both disorders.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 150 patients with bipolar disorder and 150 with schizophrenia were evaluated for migraine diagnosis using the International Classification of Headache Disorders (3rd ed). Patients were selected from psychiatry outpatient clinics at Kasr Al Ainy hospitals, Cairo University.  The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were administered to the bipolar group, whereas the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was administered to the schizophrenia group. Both groups were evaluated by the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale.

RESULTS

The diagnosis of migraine was made in 34 (22.7%) of the bipolar group and 24 (16.0%) of the schizophrenia group. Patients with schizophrenia showed a significantly higher frequency and intensity of migraine attacks on the Migraine Disability Assessment scale than did the bipolar group (p < 0.001). In the bipolar group, there was no significant difference between patients with and without migraine on the YMRS, HDRS, and CGI. Among patients with schizophrenia, the duration of the migraine attacks was positively correlated with CGI scores (r = 0.40, p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

Migraine was found to be a significant comorbidity in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. However, the intensity and frequency of migraine attacks were higher in the schizophrenia than in the bipolar group.

Revisiting the bipolar disorder with migraine phenotype: Clinical features and comorbidity

INTRODUCTION

To evaluate the prevalence and clinical correlates of lifetime migraine among patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated 721 adults with BD from the Mayo Clinic Bipolar Disorder Biobank and compared clinical correlates of those with and without a lifetime history of migraine. A structured clinical interview (DSM-IV) and a clinician-assessed questionnaire were utilized to establish a BD diagnosis, lifetime history of migraine, and clinical correlates.

RESULTS

Two hundred and seven (29%) BD patients had a lifetime history of migraine. BD patients with migraine were younger and more likely to be female as compared to those without migraine (p values <0.01). In a multivariate logistic regression model, younger age (OR=0.98, p<0.01), female sex (OR=2.02, p<0.01), higher shape/weight concern (OR=1.04, p=0.02), greater anxiety disorder comorbidities (OR=1.24, p<0.01), and evening chronotype (OR=1.65, p=0.03) were associated with migraine. In separate regression models for each general medical comorbidity (controlled for age, sex, and site), migraines were significantly associated with fibromyalgia (OR=3.17, p<0.01), psoriasis (OR=2.65, p=0.03), and asthma (OR=2.0, p<0.01). Participants with migraine were receiving ADHD medication (OR=1.53, p=0.05) or compounds associated with weight loss (OR=1.53, p=0.02) at higher rates compared to those without migraine.

LIMITATIONS

Study design precludes determination of causality. Migraine subtypes and features were not assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

Migraine prevalence is high in BD and is associated with a more severe clinical burden that includes increased comorbidity with pain and inflammatory conditions. Further study of the BD-migraine phenotype may provide insight into common underlying neurobiological mechanisms.

Markedly increased prevalence of migraine headaches in adolescents with bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVE

There is substantial evidence of increased prevalence of migraines, and negative psychiatric correlates of migraines, in adults with bipolar disorder (BD). Given the paucity of data on this topic in youth, we investigated the prevalence and correlates of migraine in a large sample of adolescents with BD.

METHOD

The study included 165 adolescents with BD-I, -II, or -not otherwise specified (NOS), diagnosed via the KSADS-PL semi-structured interview, and 89 healthy controls (HCs). Non-migraine headache and migraine headache was evaluated using the validated ID-Migraine 3-item screener.

RESULTS

Although the prevalence of non-migraine headaches did not differ between adolescents with BD (24.2%) and HCs (32.6%; P = .15), migraine was significantly more prevalent among adolescents with BD (38.2%) compared to HCs (3.4%; adjusted odds ratio 14.76, 95% confidence interval 4.39-49.57; P < .001). Within BD, migraine was associated with female sex, BD-II/-NOS subtype, less severe worst past functioning, higher past depression severity, higher self-reported affective lability, higher body mass index, and less use of lithium and second-generation antipsychotics.

DISCUSSION

Migraine is much more prevalent among adolescents with BD compared to HCs; the magnitude of this association exceeds what has been reported in adult samples. Correlates of migraine in youth BD are similar to those found for adults, including the link with the depressive polarity of BD. Future prospective studies are warranted to evaluate temporal associations between migraine and mood symptoms, and to evaluate neurobiological and cardiovascular underpinnings of these associations.

Comorbid Bipolar Disorder and Migraine: From Mechanisms to Treatment

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of manic/hypomanic or depressive symptoms and euthymic periods, with some patients suffering a gradual deterioration of illness and consequent cognitive deficits during the late stage. Migraine is a disease generally without abnormal medical examinations, neurological examinations or laboratory studies, and the diagnosis is made based on the retrospective demonstration of headache features and groupings of disease-associated symptoms. The epidemiology of comorbid BD and migraine is high and it is obligatory to find effective treatments to improve the prognosis. Recent investigations demonstrated that the close relationship between BD and migraine significantly increased the rapid cycling rates of both BD and migraine in patients. Although the detailed mechanism is complex and largely unclear in comorbid BD and migrain, genetic factors, neurotransmitters, altered signaling pathways, disturbances of inflammatory cytokines, and mitochondrial dysfunction are risk factors of BD and migraine. Particularly these two diseases share some overlapping mechanisms according to previous studies. To this end, we call for further investigations of the potential mechanisms, and more efforts are underway to improve the treatment of people with comorbid BD and migraine. In this review, we provide an overview of the potential mechanisms in patients with BD or migraine and we further discuss the treatment strategies for comorbid BD and migraine and it is obligatory to find effective treatments to improve the prognosis. This work will provide insights for us to know more about the mechanisms of comorbid BD and migraine, provides new therapeutic targets for the treatment and give clinicians some guidance for more appropriate and beneficial treatment.

Non-headache symptoms in migraine patients

Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders. In addition to severe headaches, non-headache symptoms associated with migraine attacks as well as co-morbid disorders frequently aggravate the disabling of migraine patients. Some of these symptoms are related to poor outcomes. In this review, we update the advances of studies on certain non-headache symptoms, including visual disturbance, gastrointestinal symptoms, allodynia, vestibular symptoms, and symptoms of co-morbid restless legs syndrome and psychiatric disorders.

Predictors and outcomes of somatization in bipolar I disorder: A latent class mixture modeling approach

BACKGROUND

Mood disorders are often associated with somatic symptoms. The role of somatic symptoms on disease progression in unipolar depression is substantially better characterized than that role in bipolar disorder. Moreover, the contribution of comorbid anxiety disorders and medical illness is not well understood.

METHOD

We investigated 527 patients with bipolar I disorder clustered within 102 families using a latent class approach. Predictors were added stepwise into the model. Anxiety and commonly associated medical illnesses were added as covariates.

RESULTS

The rate of somatic symptoms in this sample was 73% (mean 1.7 symptoms), and 27.3% had a comorbid anxiety disorder. A two-class model, with a subgroup at high-risk for somatization, gave the best fit to the data. Multilevel mixture modeling accounted for family clusters. Somatic symptoms were independently associated with disease severity, defined as earlier age of first seeking psychiatric help (x = 21.7 vs x = 24.7, p = 0.005) and first psychiatric hospitalization (x = 25.7 vs x = 28.2, p = 0.03), greater probability of attempting suicide (x = 0.41 vs x = 0.32, p = 0.047), and rapid-cycling disease course (x = 0.57 vs x = 0.36, p < 0.001). Persons with few or no somatic symptoms were more likely to be hospitalized for severe mania (x = 0.63 vs x = 0.51; p = 0.013), but did not significantly differ in hospitalization for severe depression.

LIMITATIONS

The study is correlational. Information on pharmacologic interventions and comorbid diseases was limited.

CONCLUSIONS

Somatic symptoms in bipolar disorder could be an independent indicator for disease severity, suicidality, and rapid-cycling disease course. In severe mental illness, somatic and psychological symptoms must be jointly addressed.

Parental and comorbid migraine in individuals with bipolar disorder: A nationwide register study

BACKGROUND

Genetic studies imply a shared genetic etiology between bipolar disorder (BD) and migraine. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated elevated comorbidity between these disorders, but haven't controlled for parental psychopathology. No previous nationally representative studies exist on familial clustering of BD and migraine. This study examines the association between parental and comorbid migraine and BD, controlling for potential confounders.

METHODS

We identified 1861 cases aged ≤25 years, 3643 matched controls, and their parents from Finnish national registers. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and two-sided significance limits of p<0.05.

RESULTS

Parental migraine, controlling for parental BD, was associated with offspring BD diagnosed at age ≥18 years (OR 1.52, 95%CI: 1.08-2.14). Associations between BD and comorbid migraine persisted following adjustment for parental BD and parental migraine in all subjects (OR=2.46, 95% CI: 1.76-3.42), both age groups of BD-diagnosis (<18 years,≥18 years) and both sexes.

LIMITATIONS

The diagnoses were register-based, not directly ascertained.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that parental migraine, even in the absence of parental BD, is a risk factor for offspring BD. Thus, a genetic link between BD and migraine could potentially explain some of the elevated comorbidity between these disorders. However, BD shows a stronger association with comorbid migraine than with parental migraine, suggesting that much of the elevated comorbidity is related to non-genetic factors. Increased understanding of mechanisms underlying the comorbidity of BD and migraine is important since it is associated with poorer health-related outcomes compared with BD alone.

Genome-wide association study identifies SESTD1 as a novel risk gene for lithium-responsive bipolar disorder

Lithium is the mainstay prophylactic treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), but treatment response varies considerably across individuals. Patients who respond well to lithium treatment might represent a relatively homogeneous subtype of this genetically and phenotypically diverse disorder. Here, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify (i) specific genetic variations influencing lithium response and (ii) genetic variants associated with risk for lithium-responsive BD. Patients with BD and controls were recruited from Sweden and the United Kingdom. GWAS were performed on 2698 patients with subjectively defined (self-reported) lithium response and 1176 patients with objectively defined (clinically documented) lithium response. We next conducted GWAS comparing lithium responders with healthy controls (1639 subjective responders and 8899 controls; 323 objective responders and 6684 controls). Meta-analyses of Swedish and UK results revealed no significant associations with lithium response within the bipolar subjects. However, when comparing lithium-responsive patients with controls, two imputed markers attained genome-wide significant associations, among which one was validated in confirmatory genotyping (rs116323614, P=2.74 × 10(-8)). It is an intronic single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on chromosome 2q31.2 in the gene SEC14 and spectrin domains 1 (SESTD1), which encodes a protein involved in regulation of phospholipids. Phospholipids have been strongly implicated as lithium treatment targets. Furthermore, we estimated the proportion of variance for lithium-responsive BD explained by common variants ('SNP heritability') as 0.25 and 0.29 using two definitions of lithium response. Our results revealed a genetic variant in SESTD1 associated with risk for lithium-responsive BD, suggesting that the understanding of BD etiology could be furthered by focusing on this subtype of BD.

Migraine and its psychiatric comorbidities

Migraine is a highly prevalent and disabling neurological disorder associated with a wide range of psychiatric comorbidities. In this manuscript, we provide an overview of the link between migraine and several comorbid psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. We present data on psychiatric risk factors for migraine chronification. We discuss the evidence, theories and methods, such as brain functional imaging, to explain the pathophysiological links between migraine and psychiatric disorders. Finally, we provide an overview of the treatment considerations for treating migraine with psychiatric comorbidities. In conclusion, a review of the literature demonstrates the wide variety of psychiatric comorbidities with migraine. However, more research is needed to elucidate the neurocircuitry underlying the association between migraine and the comorbid psychiatric conditions and to determine the most effective treatment for migraine with psychiatric comorbidity.

Migraine headache and bipolar disorder comorbidity: A systematic review of the literature and clinical implications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Psychiatric disorders, e.g., depression, are often comorbid with, and can complicate the treatment of, patients with migraine headache. Although empirical work has increasingly focused on the association between migraine and bipolar disorder, this topic has received little attention in the pain literature. Bipolar disorder is a chronic and recurrent mood disorder characterized by cyclic occurrence of elevated (i.e., manic or hypomanic) and depressed mood states. Bipolar I disorder is diagnosed when patients present with at least one abnormally and persistently elevated manic episode; bipolar II disorder is characterized by the presence of hypomanic episodes. Bipolar disorder warrants attention as depressive phases of the disorder can prevail and are often misconstrued by the unwary clinician as unipolar depression. However, treatment for bipolar disorder is distinct from that of unipolar depression and use of antidepressants, which are often invoked in migraine prophylaxis as well as the treatment of depression, may precipitate significant mood changes among bipolar disorder patients. A systematic review of the literature addressing the co-occurrence of bipolar disorder and migraine was conducted. The treatment of dually affected patients is also discussed.

METHODS

In order to review the literature to date on migraine and bipolar disorder co-occurrence, a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL for clinic-based and epidemiological studies was conducted using terms related to migraine and bipolar disorder. Studies were selected for review if they included subjects meeting validated diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder as well as migraine headache and if a quantitative description of prevalence rates of comorbid bipolar disorder and migraine were reported. Weighted means of the prevalence rates were calculated to compare with general epidemiological prevalence trends for migraine and bipolar disorder, respectively.

RESULTS

Eleven studies met inclusion criteria. Although findings were constrained by methodological limitations and several low quality studies, clinic- and epidemiological cross-sectional investigations demonstrated a high rate of comorbidity between bipolar disorder and migraine. The weighted mean prevalence rate for migraine headache among bipolar disorder patients was 30.7%; for bipolar disorder among migraineurs, the weighted mean prevalence rates were 9% and 5.9% in clinic-based and epidemiological studies, respectively. The association between bipolar disorder and migraine was most notable among women and patients with the bipolar II disorder subtype.

CONCLUSIONS

High rates of comorbidity exist between migraine and bipolar disorder, exceeding estimated prevalence rates for those conditions in the general population. Comorbidity may portend a more serious clinical course for dually afflicted individuals.

IMPLICATIONS

Clinicians need to structure treatment approaches to address concurrent migraine and bipolar disorder in dually afflicted individuals. Although further evidence-based investigation is warranted to inform optimal treatment approaches for both conditions concurrently, anticonvulsants (e.g., valproate, lamotrigine and topiramate); atypical antipsychotics (e.g., olanzapine or quetiapine); and calcium channel blockers (e.g., verapamil) may be considered.

A meta-analysis investigating the prevalence and moderators of migraines among people with bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND

Uncertainty exists regarding the prevalence and moderators of migraine comorbidity among people with bipolar disorder (BD). We conducted a meta-analysis and meta-regression to investigate the prevalence and moderators of migraine among people with BD.

METHOD

Two authors independently searched major electronic databases from inception till 02/2015. Articles were included that reported the prevalence of migraine in people with BD with or without a control group. A random effects meta-analysis and exploratory meta-regression were conducted.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies were included encompassing 3976 individuals with BD (mean age 35.5 years, SD 7.6, 29% male). The overall pooled prevalence of migraine was 34.8% (95% CI=25.54-44.69). The prevalence of migraine was higher among people with BD-II (54.17%, 95% CI=31.52-75.95, n=742) compared to BD-I (32.7%, 95% CI=18.16-49.19, n=2138, z=3.97, p<0.0001). The prevalence of migraine was 33.9% (95% CI=26.02-42.44), 39.5% (95% CI=18.81-62.39) and 47.11% (95% CI=22.24-72.77) in North America, Europe and South America respectively. The prevalence of migraine was higher when classified according to recognized criteria at 47.91% (95% CI=32.51-63.5) compared to non-recognized criteria (20.0%, 95% CI=12.44-29.06, z=-8.40, p<0.0001). Meta regression suggests mean age may be a potential moderator.

CONCLUSION

Migraine is common and burdensome among people with BD. People with BD-II appear to be particularly affected. Nonetheless, future research is required to better understand these relationships, with a special emphasis toward the course specifiers of comorbid migraine cases of either BD-I vs. BD-II.