Abstract

Objective: The data about clinical features on Bipolar Disorder-type I manic episode in the elderly individuals is limited. This article aims to compare patients admitted for manic episode in moderate-to-advanced aged patients with the young patients in terms of various clinical features and contribute describing clinical features of manic episode in elderly individuals.
Method: Twenty-five patients older than 50 years old and 25 patients younger than 30 years old with manic episode who admitted to an university and a mental health hospital were included the study. The diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder manic episode was made with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I). The Young Mania Scale and Montgomery Asberg Rating Scale were performed to assess the patienst with bipolar I disorder.
Results: The gender ratio did not differ between the two groups. The age at onset of the illness was later in elderly patients. The level of education was significantly lower in moderate-to-advanced aged patients, but there was no difference in working status between moderate-to-advanced aged and young patients. Score of YMRS was significantly higher in moderate-to-advanced aged patients. Agressiveness was significantly higher in ratio among the admitting symptoms in young patients. Use of mood stabilizers as monotheraphy was significantly higher in elderly patients.
Conclusion: The moderate-to-advanced aged patients with bipolar disorder manic episode show different features than younger patients in terms of some clinical features but further studies are needed for focusing more specialized features of manic episode in moderate-to-advanced aged patients.

Key words: middle-elder, bipolar disorder-type I, manic episode