Psychotic-Like Experiences in Offspring of Parents With Bipolar Disorder and Community Controls: A Longitudinal Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence and risk factors associated with Psychotic-Like-Experiences (PLE) in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BP) and offspring of community control parents.

METHOD: Delusional and hallucinatory subclinical psychotic experiences were evaluated at intake and longitudinally in a cohort study of 390 offspring of BP parents and 247 offspring of control parents aged 6-18 years old. The sample was followed up every 2.5 years on average for 8.3 years. 91.7% of the sample completed at least one follow up. Risk factors at intake and at each assessment until the onset of PLE were analyzed using survival models.

RESULTS: 95 (14.9%) offspring reported PLE at some point of the study, 16.9% of BP parents and 11.7% of controls, without statistically significant differences. Psychotic disorders were less frequent, 16 (2.5%) in both groups. During follow-up, three variables remained as the most significant associated with PLE in the multivariate models: 1) presence of any psychiatric disorder (HR = 3.1; p = .01); 2) low psychosocial functioning (HR = 2.94; p < .0001); and 3) current or past history of physical or sexual abuse (HR = 1.85; p = .04). There were no effects of any subtype of BP, IQ, history of medical illnesses, exposure to medications, or perinatal complications.

CONCLUSION: In line with previous studies, PLE in our sample were relatively common, and were associated with higher morbidity during the follow-up. Contrary to the literature, neither family risk for bipolar nor early neurodevelopmental insults were associated with PLE.