These findings support the possibility of identification of persons prior to the onset of mania/hypomania. The proposed criteria need further evaluation in larger, prospective studies with longer follow-up periods.
Bipolar affective disorders (BD) are severe, recurrent and disabling disorders with devastating consequences for individuals, families and the society. Although this personal burden and costs for the health system provide a compelling rationale for development of early detection and early intervention strategies in BD, the development of at-risk criteria for BD is still in an early stage of research. In this paper we review the literature of clinical data that investigate at-risk criteria. Moreover, we will discuss methodological problems associated with the definition of being at high-risk for developing bipolar disorders and show the different research approaches that deal with the investigation of at-risk criteria and appropriate intervention for BD. If prospective studies confirm the at-risk criteria for BD, then there is potential to develop preventive measures in BD with opportunities to ameliorate the severity of or even prevent BD.
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