Bipolar disorders and affective temperaments: A national family study testing the “endophenotype” and “subaffective” theses using the TEMPS-A Buenos Aires

The Role of Temperament in the Etiopathogenesis of Bipolar Spectrum Illness

“…It seems that the composition of the sample in terms of diagnosis might determine the outcome, by giving weight to depressive, anxious, irritable or cyclothymic temperament, but not hyperthymic which might be higher in controls. The presence of these temperaments might impact on the quality of life of relatives of mood patients 149 . Finally it has been shown that personality traits of high Harm Avoidance and low Self-directedness are heritable risk factors for major depression in the never depressed sibs of depressives 150 .…”

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“…Η παρουσία αυτών των τύπων ιδιοσυγκρασίας μπορεί να επηρεάσει την ποιότητα ζωής των συγγενών των α-σθενών με συναισθηματικές διαταραχές. 83 Τέλος, έχει διαπιστωθεί ότι χαρακτηριστικά της προσωπικότητας όπως η «Αποφυγή Βλάβης» (Harm Avoidance) και ο χα-μηλός «Αυτο-προσδιορισμός» (Self-directedness) είναι κληρονομικοί παράγοντες κινδύνου για μείζονα κατά-θλιψη στα αδέλφια καταθλιπτικών ασθενών που δεν έχουν νοσήσει. …”

Treatment of Cyclothymic Disorder: Commentary

“…Risks for cyclothymic disorder and temperament appear to be similar in men and women, to have a minor female preponderance and a greater chance of women to present for treatment [10,13] . First-degree relatives of cyclothymic disorder probands have an excess of BPD or MDD and, conversely, there is an excess of cyclothymia among relatives of identified BPD patients [10,15] . However, there is a lack of clarity about: (1) the stability of the disorder over time, (2) the proportion of early subsyndromal and later major hypomanic, depressive, or mixed states in the course of disorders considered primarily cyclothymic, (3) typical cycling rates as well as the frequency and duration of intervening periods of stability, and (4) risks of suicidal behavior.…”