Depressive and manic-hypomanic spectrum psychopathology in patients with anorexia nervosa.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
We used a dimensional measure of mood psychopathology to document lifetime depressive and manic-hypomanic spectrum symptoms in 50 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN).

METHOD:
Participants provided demographic information and completed the Self-Report Questionnaire for Mood Spectrum, a 161-item instrument that documents lifetime symptoms, traits, and behaviors characteristic of threshold and subthreshold mood episodes. Analyses focused on the association of depressive and manic-hypomanic component scores with indicators of clinical severity in AN.

RESULTS:
Lifetime severity of depressive (M[SD] = 39.1[13.9]) and manic-hypomanic (M[SD] = 23.8[12.1]) spectrum symptoms exceeded the established thresholds for clinical significance on these scales (ie, score > or =22). There was a positive correlation between the number of manic-hypomanic items endorsed and the number of depressive items endorsed. After controlling for lifetime history of mood disorder, severity of depressive and manic-hypomanic spectrum symptomatology also was associated with a history of self-induced vomiting and suicidality in patients with AN.

CONCLUSION:
These data provide initial evidence for the clinical significance of depressive and manic-hypomanic spectrum symptoms in patients with AN. Future work is needed to determine how mood spectrum psychopathology might impact the course and treatment of AN.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Wildes, Jennifer E (JE); Marcus, Marsha D (MD); Gaskill, Jill A (JA); Ringham, Rebecca (R);

Affiliation: Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. wildesje@upmc.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Comprehensive psychiatry (Compr Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2007 Sep-Oct; vol 48 (issue 5) : pp 413-8

Dates: Created 2007/08/20; Completed 2007/10/30;

PMID: 17707248, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Anorexia Nervosa - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology
Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology
Body Mass Index
Comorbidity
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.