Estudio de la estructura latente del síndrome maníaco mediante técnicas de escalamiento multidimensional

Abstract

Introduction and ObjectiveTo date, some reports about dimensions of mania suggest that the importance of affective symptoms is controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the latent structure of the manic syndrome by using classical methods of factor analysis for ordinal variables and multidimensional scaling. Method404 consecutively admitted patients with DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder, manic, hypomanic or mixed were analyzed using the EMUN scale. Factor analysis for ordinal variables and multidimendional scaling were carried out. ResultsFactor analysis evidenced four clinically interpretable factors (activation, cognitive, affective, depression) with activation being the most important domain. Multidimensional scaling confirmed activation as an identifiable factor that is a central constituent of the syndrome, and affective symptoms as a secondary component. Hipersexuality seems to be an isolated symptom, probably reflecting other latent dimensions. ConclusionMania is the expression of four dimensions. The core domain of the syndrome is activation. Although depressive symptoms are not the main component, its evaluation during manic, hypomanic or mixed states is essential.