Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:983-988
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Bipolar affective disorder and high achievement: a familial association
W Coryell, J Endicott, M Keller, N Andreasen, W Grove, RM Hirschfeld and W Scheftner
National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Program on the Psychobiology of Depression--Clinical Studies, Iowa City, IA.
The authors studied 442 probands with nonbipolar major depression, 64 with
bipolar II disorder, and 88 with bipolar I disorder. Although the proband
groups did not differ in occupational or educational achievement, the
first-degree relatives of probands with bipolar disorders had significantly
higher mean levels of achievement than did those of probands with
nonbipolar disorder. This pattern applied whether or not the relatives
themselves had bipolar illness. The authors conclude that the socioeconomic
advantage previously associated with affective disorder in general may be
limited to the bipolar forms.
