Antidepressant-associated mania in late life. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: Elderly patients can present with mania for the first time late in life, and some elders treated with antidepressants can present with mania. Clinical characteristics of antidepressant-associated mania (AAM) in late life have not been examined. OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to identify elders with AAM and to compare selected clinical characteristics to those of manic elders who had not been treated with an antidepressant. We hypothesized that AAM patients would have later age at presentation of bipolar disorder. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed inpatients with manic disorder who were aged >or=60 years. The sample was selected from admissions prior to 1990. RESULTS: AAM patients (n = 11) were more often experiencing first manic episode, and they had later age at onset of first manic episode, compared to non-AAM patients (n = 46). Most of the AAM patients had been treated with tricyclic agents. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings invite further investigation. Related studies may contribute to risk-benefit analyses for the use of particular antidepressants in the elderly. Also, first episode mania in late life may prove to be a useful model of vulnerability to AAM.

publication date

  • May 1, 2003

Research

keywords

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • Bipolar Disorder

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0038811783

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1002/gps.855

PubMed ID

  • 12766919

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 18

issue

  • 5