Thursday, May 16, 2013

Flu in Pregnancy Is Linked to Bipolar Disorder

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/flu-in-pregnancy-is-linked-to-bipolar-disorder/?partner=MYWAY&ei=5065

by NICHOLAS BAKALAR, well.blogs.nytimes.com
May 15th 2013

Flu infection during pregnancy may increase the risk for bipolar disorder in the child, according to a new report.

Previous studies have found an association between flu infection and schizophrenia, but this one, published online in JAMA Psychiatry, is the first to find a connection with bipolar disorder.

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After controlling for maternal age, race, educational level, gestational age at birth and maternal psychiatric disorders, they found that people whose mothers had the flu during pregnancy had quadruple the risk for bipolar disorder as adults. [confusing wording. Better to say "when they were adults"]

“Pregnant women should not be alarmed,” said the senior author, Dr. Alan S. Brown, a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia. “Bipolar disorder occurs in only 1 percent of the population. But this is another piece of knowledge indicating that pregnant mothers and women planning a pregnancy should consider getting a flu shot.”

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