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Gender-related differences in patients with bipolar disorder: a nationwide study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2019

Massimiliano Buoli Open the ORCID record for Massimiliano Buoli [Opens in a new window] ,
Bruno Mario Cesana ,
Bernardo Dell’Osso ,
Andrea Fagiolini ,
Andrea de Bartolomeis ,
Emi Bondi ,
Giuseppe Maina ,
Antonello Bellomo  and
A. Carlo Altamura
Massimiliano Buoli*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122, Milan, Italy
Bruno Mario Cesana
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Unit of Medical Statistics, Biometry and Bioinformatics “Giulio A. Maccacaro”, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Bernardo Dell’Osso
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences “Luigi Sacco”, Psychiatry Unit 2, ASST-Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, via G.B.Grassi 74, 20157 Milan, Italy Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, CA, USA CRC “Aldo Ravelli” for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan
Andrea Fagiolini
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Siena Medical Center, Siena, Italy
Andrea de Bartolomeis
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry and Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Science and Odontostomatology, School of Medicine, University “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
Emi Bondi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
Giuseppe Maina
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, “San Luigi-Gonzaga” Hospital, University of Turin, Orbassano, Turin, Italy
Antonello Bellomo
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Foggia, Italy
A. Carlo Altamura
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122, Milan, Italy
*
*Address correspondence to: Massimiliano Buoli, Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy. (Email: massimiliano.buoli@unimi.it)
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Abstract

Objective

The possible presence of gender-related differences in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) may have diagnostic and therapeutic implications. This multicenter study aimed to investigate gender differences in BD in the largest Italian database collected to date, on behalf of the Italian Chapter of the International Society of Bipolar Disorders.

Methods

A total of 1674 patients (males: n = 714; females: n = 960) from different psychiatric departments were compared according to gender on demographic/clinical variables. Owing to the large number of variables statistically related to the dependent variable (gender) at the univariate analyses, preliminary multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. A final multivariable logistic regression was then performed, considering gender as the dependent variable and statistically significant demographic/clinical characteristics as independent variables.

Results

The results of the final multivariable logistic regression analysis with previous statistically significant demographic and clinical variables were the following: female gender was less frequently associated with employment (odds ratio [OR] = 0.7, P < 0.01), lifetime single marital status (OR = 0.45, P < 0.01), and substance abuse in the last year (OR = 0.35, P < 0.01), whereas it was more frequently associated with a major number of lifetime major depressive episodes (OR = 1.78, P < 0.01) and psychiatric visits in the last year (OR = 1.38, P = 0.01).

Conclusion

Few significant differences were found between genders in BD, particularly for those clinical features that are associated with poor prognosis (substance abuse for males and number of depressive episodes for females). Transcultural studies are needed to identify cultural versus illness-related variables possibly explaining the different clinical presentation of BD in relation to gender.

Keywords

Bipolar disorder (BD)clinical aspectsgenderoutcomesubstance abuse
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 24 , Issue 6 , December 2019 , pp. 589 - 596
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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