Biomedical subjects

Christer Engström

Publications and source records attributed to Christer Engström.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Bipolar disorder: I. Temperament and character.

BACKGROUND: The nature of the relationship between personality and bipolar affective disorders is an important but unanswered question. METHODS: We have studied personality in bipolar patients by using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). TCI were administered to 100 euthymic bipolar patients and 100 controls from the normal population. RESULTS: Bipolar patients were significantly higher in harm avoidance (HA) and lower in reward dependence (RD), self-directedness (SD), and cooperativeness (CO) than controls. Bipolar patients are more fatigable, less sentimental, more independent, less purposeful, less resourceful, less empathic, less helpful, less pure-hearted, and have less impulse control than controls. Bipolar II patients are more impulsive, more fatigable, less resourceful, and have less impulse control than bipolar I patients. LIMITATIONS: Our results are limited to euthymic bipolar patients and cannot be generalized to affective disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Even when clinically euthymic on lithium maintenance, bipolar patients continue to have a characteristic cognitive deficit. This is in agreement with cognitive theories about cognitive deficits in depression that are regarded as important vulnerability factors in mood disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Expanded RED products and loci containing CAG/CTG repeats on chromosome 17 (ERDA1) and chromosome 18 (CTG18.1) in trans-generational pairs with bipolar affective disorder.

The purpose of the present study was to further test if expanded CAG repeats detected by the repeat expansion detection (RED) method in bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) are correlated with ERDA1 (17q21.3) and/or CTG18.1 (18q21.1) loci expansions, and changes of phenotype severity in successive generations (anticipation). The sample was designed to analyze ERDA1 and CTG18.1 expansions in trans-generational pairs of affected individuals (parent-offspring pairs: G1 and G2). Clinical and genetic information was available on 95 two-generations pairs. We found in our sample no one patient carrying an expanded allele at the CTG18.1 locus. This observation is true for all individuals in G1 and G2. Using the conditional logistic regression, no statistical difference was observed between the two generations for ERDA1 alleles (chi(2) = 0.2, P = 0.65). These data do not support the correlation between expanded RED products (RED fragments >120) and expanded alleles at ERDA1 in trans-generational pairs with BPAD. We were not able to detect any correlation for CTG18.1. Earlier age at onset in offspring generation was also not associated with expanded RED products explained by expanded ERDA1 alleles.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Bipolar disorder. III: Harm avoidance a risk factor for suicide attempts.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to examine whether personality, i.e. temperament and character influence suicide attempts in bipolar patients. METHODS: Bipolar patients were recruited from lithium dispensaries. Temperament and character inventory (TCI) was administered to 100 euthymic bipolar patients and 100 controls. RESULTS: Age of onset was significantly lower in patients with suicide attempts in the total bipolar group (I and II) and bipolar I patients compared with patients without suicide attempts. Bipolar (I and II) and bipolar I patients with suicide attempts were significantly higher in harm avoidance (HA) and reward dependence compared with patients without suicide attempts. Patients (I and II) with suicide attempts had significantly more anticipatory worry, fatigability and asthenia than patients without suicide attempts. Bipolar I patients with suicide attempts had significantly more fatigability and asthenia and were more dependent than patients without suicide attempts. HA was lowest in patients with no suicide attempts and no family history of suicide, higher in patients with family history of suicide or patients with suicide attempts, and significantly highest in patients with suicide attempts and family history of suicide. Patients with suicide attempts and family history of suicide had more anticipatory worry, fatigability and asthenia. Bipolar disorder was significantly correlated to HA and suicide attempts to HA and PS. Family history of suicide and gender were significantly correlated to suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS: Age of onset, HA, PS, gender and family history of suicide had a moderate to very strong effect on suicide attempts in bipolar patients.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

PubMed2003

Bipolar disorder. II: personality and age of onset.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine whether personality i.e. temperament and character interacts with age of onset in bipolar disorder. METHODS: Bipolar patients were recruited among in- and outpatients from lithium dispensaries of northern Sweden. Patients were diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder type I and II. Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was used for measuring personality. TCI was administered to 100 lithium treated bipolar patients and 100 controls. RESULTS: Treatment response was significantly lower (p = 0.005) in patients with early onset compared with late onset. Family history (p = 0.013) and suicide attempts (p = 0.001) were also significantly more common in patients with early onset. Further, patients with early onset were significantly higher (p = 0.045) in the temperament factor harm avoidance (HA) than patients with late onset, but the difference was weak. Patients with early onset had more fear of uncertainty (HA2; p = 0.022) and were more shy (HA3; p = 0.030). Bipolar I patients showed similar results as those in the total bipolar group (I and II), with significantly higher HA (p = 0.019, moderate difference), HA2 (p = 0.015) and HA3 (p = 0.043) in patients with early onset compared with late onset. Bipolar II patients showed no differences between early and late age of onset but the groups are small and the results are therefore uncertain. CONCLUSIONS: Early age of onset in bipolar disorder was correlated to an increase in severity, family history, poorer treatment response and poorer prognosis. Early onset was also correlated to personality.

Adult↗