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Cited by 11Bipolar Disorder and TreatmentChild Abuse and TraumaMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Childhood trauma and bipolar affective disorder: Is there a linkage?

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Chauhan, Vinay S, Sharma, Markanday, Chatterjee, Kaushik, Prakash, Jyoti, Srivastava, Kalpana, Chaudhury, Suprakash·2023·Industrial Psychiatry Journal
DOI 10.4103/ipj.ipj_206_23PMC PMC10871434
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Abstract

Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) is a major psychiatric illness impairing the quality of life. The etiology of BPAD is influenced by different factors possibly related to gene-environment interactions. Approximately 30% to 50% of individuals with BPAD have experienced some traumatic event in childhood. Serious adverse experiences that children may suffer early in life are often described as childhood trauma (CT). It includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and physical and emotional neglect. CT is linked with an elevated risk of developing BPAD. Childhood adversities play a role in modulating the early onset of illness, increased number of depressive episodes, increased suicide attempts, and other clinical severity of BPAD. Hospital-based studies comprising heterogeneous populations had researched the specific role of each trauma subtype as a predisposing factor for BPAD. Identifying and addressing CT through early intervention methods may prevent the future development of chronic disorders like BPAD. This review article is an attempt to explore and highlight the existing literature regarding the association of different subtypes of CT with BPAD.

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  • Several smaller-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest that ACEs could exacerbate clinical characteristics, increase relapse rates, and heighten the risk of suicidality in both major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.

    “Several smaller-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest that ACEs could exacerbate clinical characteristics, increase relapse rates, and heighten the risk of suicidality in both major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder [17, 18].”

    From Association between adverse childhood experiences and suicidal behavior in affective disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [17]

    The sections on manic and depressive episodes report associations between childhood trauma and more severe symptoms in bipolar disorder; the suicide-attempt section reports an association with childhood abuse, and Clinical Assessment mentions high mood recurrence. These passages do not establish increased relapse rates, and the paper does not extend these findings to major depressive disorder. The cited studies are described as small or retrospective in some cases, but the copy does not substantiate the claim's broader description of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies covering both disorders. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • The present findings align with prior meta-analytic evidence in the general population that ACEs are associated with increased risk of suicidal behaviors.

    “Our findings align with prior meta-analytic evidence in the general population, which has consistently reported an increased risk of suicidal behaviors among individuals exposed to ACEs [26].”

    From Association between adverse childhood experiences and suicidal behavior in affective disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [26]

    The “Suicide attempt” section (page unavailable) reports an association between childhood abuse and suicide attempts in the context of bipolar disorder. It does not present meta-analytic evidence about ACEs and suicidal behaviors in the general population. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 38

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Chauhan, V. S., Sharma, M., Chatterjee, K., Prakash, J., Srivastava, K., & Chaudhury, S.
Affiliations
Indian Air Force (IN)
Corresponding author
Chauhan, Vinay S
ORCID
Venue
Industrial Psychiatry Journal
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2023-11
Volume
32
Issue
Suppl 1
Pages
S9-S14
ISSN
  • 0972-6748 (ISSN-L)
  • 0976-2795
DOI
10.4103/ipj.ipj_206_23
PMC
PMC10871434
OpenAlex
W4389131116
Cited by
11
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 1
FWCI
0.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc-sa
Locations
  • Industrial Psychiatry Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Keywords
childhood trauma, bipolar disorder, childhood abuse, child neglect, gene-environment interaction, early-onset bipolar disorder, depressive episodes, suicide attempts, early intervention, adverse childhood experiences

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