Clinical and psychopathological correlates of duration of untreated illness (DUI) in affective spectrum disorders

•Treatment delay contributes to disease burden in affective spectrum disorders.•A long duration of untreated illness (DUI) is linked to higher depression severity.•Long DUI is associated with higher Body Mass Index and more physical comorbidities.•Subjects with long DUI present younger age at onset of psychiatric symptoms. Affective disorders represent psychopathological entities lying on a continuum, characterized by high prevalence and functional impairment. A delay in treatment initiation might increase the burden associated with affective spectrum disorders. The present study was aimed at analyzing the correlates of a long duration of untreated illness (DUI) in these conditions. We recruited subjects diagnosed with affective disorders, both in- and outpatients, and collected information concerning socio-demographic, clinical, and psychopathological characteristics. Long DUI was defined according to previous research criteria as >2 years for Bipolar Disorders or >1 year for Depressive Disorders. Bivariate analyses were performed to compare subjects with a long and short DUI (p