Childhood maltreatment and suicidality in bipolar patients

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex disorder involving genetic vulnerability and environmental factors such as childhood maltreatment. We conducted a study of patients being followed for BD to assess their experience of childhood maltreatment. We conducted a retrospective assessment of childhood maltreatment using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The Suicide Probability Scale (SPS) was used to assess suicidal risk. In our study, 45.2% of patients had experienced at least one type of childhood abuse. Physical abuse was the most frequent form of maltreatment (28.6%). Childhood maltreatment was associated with an earlier age of onset of TB, more frequent thymic relapses, a rapid-cycle course, poor therapeutic compliance and a higher suicidal potential. These findings underline the negative impact of childhood maltreatment on the course and prognosis of TB. Preventive measures are needed to limit their deleterious effects.