Monitoring mood symptoms in young adults at-risk for bipolar disorder

Project Type(s):

Co-Investigator(s):

The ages of 18-25 years are ‘peak onset’ times of major depression and bipolar disorder. These disorders have different courses and treatments, but diagnosing bipolar disorder is difficult because manic symptoms occur less often than depressive symptoms and many individuals do not recall manic symptoms. A ‘misdiagnosis lag’ of 8-10 years can contribute to prolonged periods of potentially ineffective treatments and suboptimal outcomes such as high symptom burden, relationship problems, educational attainment and occupational functioning.

This project will use remote prospective assessment and monitoring of depressive and manic symptoms in at-risk patients in-between patient visits to increase the ‘data points’ clinicians have when assessing a bipolar disorder diagnosis. This is especially important for people at risk for bipolar disorder (for example those with a family history of bipolar disorder) because manic symptoms can be provoked by first-line medication treatments for major depression. The project will use a new manic symptom measure (the Patient Mania Questionnaire-9) and a commonly used depressive symptom measure (the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) to monitor symptoms, and learn how clinicians and patients use this information clinically.

Project Period:
January 1, 2023 — December 31, 2023

Funding Type(s):
Philanthropy

Funder(s):
Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions

Research Program(s):

Geographic Area(s):
University of Washington

Practice Type(s):
Outpatient

Patient Population(s):
Young Adults

Targeted Condition(s):
Bipolar Disorder, Depression