Editorial: The Challenge of Psychopharmacological Treatment of Anxiety Among Youth Offspring of Parents With Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

Mood disorders, including bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), are leading causes of disability worldwide. MDD is the leading cause of disability beginning at age 10 years and thereafter, and BD is the fourth leading cause of disability in adolescents.1 Although one might expect that at a young age, and with a short duration of illness, mood disorders in youth are less complex than in adults, this is far from the reality. Even in epidemiologic, representative samples that do not have the same sample selection biases as clinical studies, mood disorders in youth are characterized by high rates of psychiatric comorbidity and suicidality.2-4 The perniciousness of mood disorders in youth necessitates strategies to enhance prediction of future mood disorders among those at risk, to guide prevention and early intervention strategies.