Cognition
Home ❯ Cognition

Cognition

What are antecedents of bipolar disorder?

Antecedents, including cognitive anomalies, are usually subtle deviations in development that may become evident during childhood or adolescence. The presence of these deviations may foreshadow the later development of bipolar disorder, however most children who exhibit deviations do not develop the disorder. Studies exploring antecedents are ideally based on representative, population-based samples that follow the group from birth through childhood and adolescence to adulthood.

What is the evidence from long-term studies on cognitive anomalies as antecedents of bipolar disorder?

Moderate to low quality evidence suggests a medium-sized effect of low IQ in childhood, particularly measured on attention and working memory scales, in people who developed bipolar disorder or mania in adulthood. However, this finding is not consistent across studies, and there is also evidence of a large association between high childhood IQ and mania in adulthood.

October 2021

Image: ©Freshidea – Fotolia – stock.adobe.com

Last updated at: 3:15 pm, 29th March 2022
To view documentation related to this topic download the files below
Fact Sheet Technical Commentary
Tags:  General cognition

NeuRA Libraries

Title Colour Legend:
Green - Topic summary is available.
Orange - Topic summary is being compiled.
Red - Topic summary has no current systematic review available.