Clinical correlates of socioeconomic status in adolescent bipolar disorder

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with symptomatic severity, comorbidity, and functional impairment in adults with bipolar disorder (BD). Little is known about clinical correlates of SES in adolescents with BD. Participants included 195 adolescents, 13–20 years old, with BD type I, II or not otherwise specified (NOS). Diagnoses were determined by standardized semi-structured interviews. Based on the Hollingshead scale, participants were divided into “low” (SES 1–3) and the “high” (SES 4–5) SES groups. Demographic and clinical correlates of SES were evaluated in univariate analyses; significant variables were evaluated in a logistic regression model. Compared to participants in the high SES group (n = 150), participants in the low SES group (n = 45) were significantly younger, less likely to be of Caucasian race and living with natural parents. In the logistic regression model, controlling for age and race, the low SES group had higher risk of police contact or arrest (OR = 2.41, 95% CI:1.14–5.11, p = 0.022), less treatment with stimulants(OR = 0.20 95% CI: 0.06–0.67, p = 0.009), and more post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (OR = 4.08, 95% CI:1.33–12.46, p = 0.014) compared to the high SES group. In sensitivity analyses that further controlled for intact family, the finding of higher rates of police contact or arrest was no longer significant. Cross-sectional design; higher-skewed SES sample. Lower SES in adolescent BD is associated with higher legal risk, increased PTSD, and under-treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Future studies are needed to evaluate the inter-relationships of these correlates, using prospective designs that can evaluate the direction of these associations. Further studies incorporating neurobiological markers are also needed to explore mechanisms underlying SES-related differences in BD. •Lower SES is associated with PTSD, police contact or arrest, and less treatment with stimulants.•There were relatively few participants with very low socioeconomic status.•Studies evaluating SES in relation to biomarkers and intervention outcome studies in bipolar disorder are warranted.