Study Links Child Abuse, Neglect to Earlier Onset of Bipolar Disorder

A study in The Lancet Psychiatry showed that people with bipolar disorder who were neglected or abused physically, sexually or emotionally as children were more likely to experience severe manic, depressive and psychotic symptoms than those who weren't abused. The findings, based on a review of 30 studies, also revealed those who experienced childhood abuse developed symptoms of the disorder more than four years earlier, were almost four times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder and almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide, compared with people who weren't abused during childhood.  HealthDay News http://consumer.healthday.com/mental-health-information-25/bipolar-affective-disorder-news-60/child-abuse-or-neglect-leads-to-earlier-development-of-bipolar-disorder-707935.html