Bipolar And Childhood Abuse

[Doctor Dysphoria]

:trigger:

bipolar and childhood abuse

[Amy]

I knew that there were enviromental factors with bipolar. I am bpII rapid cycling. I didn't know this though. It is very interesting. Thanks for posting this information.

Amy

[Amy]

I knew that there were enviromental factors with bipolar. I am bpII rapid cycling. I didn't know this though. It is very interesting. Thanks for posting this information.

Amy

[Wisdom]

from all that I have studied/researched there is no relationship between bipolar and the enviornment. bipolar is a biochemical illness that is often inherited from family memebers usually parents. as a result of bipolar illness the surrounding enviornment/life of an individual can fall apart and can continue to do so unless treated by medications. after stabilization occurs the individual will continue to have this illness for the remainder of their lives. the best we can do is to remain stable, take meds, accept help, and live as productively as we can. hopefully the symptoms will go in and out of remission.

[Doctor Dysphoria]

from all that I have studied/researched there is no relationship between bipolar and the enviornment. bipolar is a biochemical illness that is often inherited from family memebers usually parents. as a result of bipolar illness the surrounding enviornment/life of an individual can fall apart and can continue to do so unless treated by medications. after stabilization occurs the individual will continue to have this illness for the remainder of their lives. the best we can do is to remain stable, take meds, accept help, and live as productively as we can. hopefully the symptoms will go in and out of remission.

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Taken from univesisty of Birmingham web site : Research into Bipolar Disorder

Role of the Environment in Manic Depression

The fact that there are pairs of identical twins who are discordant for manic depression (where only one twin is affected) shows that there are environmental factors that are important in developing manic depression. The term environment refers to everything other than genes which could affect a person’s risk of illness. It could include certain life stressors, social circumstances, diet, sunlight, or even response to viruses or other infections. This rather vague description is a reflection of the fact that little is known about the environmental factors which are involved in the development of manic depression. However, we do know that something other than genes must play a role. Genes provide the ‘blueprint’ for traits but environmental influences probably interact with genes to trigger or modify their effects. Currently, in our group we are looking at a whole host of environmental factors that might play a role. We know that there are groups of people who only develop manic depression after pregnancy (often called ‘Puerperal Psychosis’, or after prescribed steroids ((called steroid psychosis), so we are looking at these triggers in particular detail.

Why is it important to find genes?

The causes of manic depressive illness are not well understood and although we have treatments that are effective we do not understand the mechanisms by which the treatments act, they are not effective in all sufferers and they have unwanted side effects in many people. Once genes can be found that influence susceptibility, it is possible to determine which proteins these code for, and find out what biochemical role these play in development and maintenance of the disorder. The next step will be to develop treatments which counteract their detrimental effects on mental health.

taken from mddaboston.org : Genes Don’t Explain It All

After presenting the compelling genetic evidence, Dr. Pulver emphasized that genetic factors alone do not determine susceptibility to bipolar disorder. The risk for bipolar disorder stems from a complex mix of both genetic and environmental factors, and their current theory is that most individuals who develop these conditions must have several risk genes and significant environmental influences. Dr. Pulver also pointed out that the current line of thought is that bipolar disorder represents not a single gene disorder, but a complex issue involving multiple genes.

High concordance of bipolar I disorder in a nationwide sample of twins.

Kieseppa T, Partonen T, Haukka J, Kaprio J, Lonnqvist J.

Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, 00300 Helsinki 30, Finland. tuula.kieseppa@ktl.fi.

OBJECTIVE: The few studies of bipolar I disorder in twins have consistently emphasized the genetic contribution to disease liability. The authors report what appears to be the first twin study of bipolar I disorder involving a population-based twin sample, in which the diagnoses were made by using structured, personal interviews. METHOD: All Finnish same-sex twins (N=19,124) born from 1940 to 1957 were screened for a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder as recorded in the National Hospital Discharge Register between 1969 and 1991 or self-reported in surveys of the Finnish Twin Cohort in 1975, 1981, and 1990. Thirty-eight pairs were thereby identified and invited to participate in the study; the participation rate was 68%. Lifetime diagnoses were made by using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. The authors calculated probandwise and pairwise concordances and correlations in liability and applied biometrical model fitting. RESULTS: The probandwise concordance rates were 0.43 (95% CI=0.10 to 0.82) for monozygotic twins and 0.06 (95% CI=0.00 to 0.27) for dizygotic twins. The correlations in liability were 0.85 and 0.41, respectively. The model with no familial transmission was rejected. The best-fitting model was the one in which genetic and specific environmental factors explained the variance in liability, with a heritability estimate of 0.93 (95% CI=0.69 to 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: The high heritability of bipolar disorder was demonstrated in a nationwide population-based twin sample assessed with structured personal interviews.

Taken from emedicine.com: * Environmental

o In some instances, the cycle either may be directly linked to external stresses or the external pressures may serve to exacerbate some underlying genetic or biochemical predisposition.

o Pregnancy is a particular stress for women with an MDI history and increases the possibility of postpartum psychosis (Chaudron, 2003).

o Because of the nature of their work, certain individuals have periods of high demands followed by periods of few requirements. For example, one person was a landscaper and gardener. In the spring, summer, and fall, he was very busy. During the winter, he was relatively inactive except for plowing snow. Thus, he appeared manic for a good part of the year, and then he would crash and hibernate for the cold months.

Taken from uq .edu.au : Identical twins show around 60% concordance, so there is apparently some environmental factors that come into play. The strange absence of Bipolar I in France also suggests that the environment plays a role.

Taken from sheridanhill.com : Researcher agree that bipolar disorder has no single cause, but is rather a combination of factors. The findings strongly suggest an inborn vulnerability to the disorder interacting with an environmental trigger. This idea is similar to theories about the cause of other medical conditions, such as heart disease.

Taken from gbmc.org:Research indicates that, in the majority of families, neuropsychiatric disorders have a complex cause involving the interaction of multiple genes with each other and with environmental factors. Although such complex disorders can cluster in families, they generally do not follow the traditional patterns of Mendelian inheritance (i.e., autosomal dominant or recessive). For example, a seemingly unaffected member of an affected family might not manifest the disorder because he or she lacks all of the necessary risk genes, or simply because he or she has never experienced an environmental "trigger". Complex disorders in a family may often "skip generations†because the multiple risk genes and the environmental trigger(s) necessary to cause disease onset are not present in one generation or another.

I strongly believe in it being caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental trigger with a lower environmental trigger needed the higher the familial incidence of the disorder.

[Amy]

Wisdom,

While of course there is a genetic role, I have learned that it can be brought on by a major trigger. Like a death in the family, a divorce, a traumatic event, etc.