Bipolar Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bipolar, including details on bipolar disorder, symptoms, treatment, depression, medication.

Demographic and diagnostic characteristics of the first 1000 patients enrolled in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD).

Kogan JN, Otto MW, Bauer MS, Dennehy EB, Miklowitz DJ, Zhang HW, Ketter T, Rudorfer MV, Wisniewski SR, Thase ME, Calabrese J, Sachs GS,

Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. koganjn@ccbh.com

OBJECTIVES: Bipolar disorder is a severe, recurrent, and often highly impairing psychiatric disorder. The Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) is a large-scale multicenter study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to examine the longitudinal course of the disorder and the effectiveness of current treatments. The current report provides a context for interpreting studies resulting from STEP-BD by summarizing the baseline demographic and diagnostic characteristics of the first 1000 enrolled. METHODS: The majority of the sample met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I disorder (71%). Mean age of patients was 40.6 (+/-12.7) years and mean duration of bipolar illness was 23.1 (+/-12.9) years. Among the first 1000 subjects enrolled, 58.6% are females and 92.6% Caucasian. This report compares the STEP-BD sample with other large cohorts of bipolar patients (treatment and community samples). RESULTS: Compared with US population and community studies, the first 1000 STEP-BD patients were less racially diverse, more educated, had lower income, and a higher unemployment rate. Results are discussed in terms of the contributions of STEP-BD (and other large-scale treatment studies) in understanding the nature, treatments, and outcomes of bipolar disorder for patients seeking care at academic treatment centers. CONCLUSIONS: The current report provides a context for interpreting future studies resulting from STEP-BD. The comparison of demographic and clinical characteristics between the samples across clinic-based studies suggests broad similarities despite the substantial differences in geography, payer mix, and clinical entry point.

Published 15 November 2004 in Bipolar Disord, 6(6): 460-9.
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