ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have shown that the predominant description of polarity has effects upon early detection and the timely beginning of treatment in patients with bipolar affective disorder (BAD). METHODOLOGY: Cross sectional cut and descriptive study in 101 BAD patients coming from a genetically isolated population from the Colombian Region of Antioquia. RESULTS: The study covered a population of 101 patients with type-I BAD diagnosis, out of which 57,4% met the criteria for maniac polarity (MP), 10,1% exhibited depressive polarity (DP) and 25,7% were classified with Indefinite Polarity (IP). In comparison, MP patients have a lower education level and less starting age, including a greater number of single people. The MP group showed the greatest prevalence of suicide and greater use of cannabinoids and cocaine. Within the DP group there was a strong tendency to cigarette and alcohol consumption. With respect to pharmaceutical drugs consumed by the study patients during their lives, antipsychotics were the most widely used group, followed by lithium and anti-convulsivants. There is high percentage of MP patients who have used antidepressants during their lives. CONCLUSION: The polarity of the first episode of the disease seems to be a valid predictive parameter concerning the polarity of subsequent episodes; therefore, it works indirectly as a valid predictor of the disease's course.
