Children, Genetics, Bipolar Disorder: Part 1
Due to the abundance of research I acquired, I will be splitting this blog into multiple posts...
As stated in my previous blog, bipolar disorder (BD) and mental illness plays a monstrous role in every life decision that my wife and I make. Currently we are struggling with the decision to have a child, knowing the likelihood that our child may have multiple mental illnesses.
Do we follow our hearts and roll the dice knowing that our child has a 76% chance of "experiencing childhood-onset bipolar disorder before the age of 12" (Wagner, MD, PhD, 2010). This is not including a 51% chance of acquiring an anxiety disorder, 53% chance of having disruptive behavior disorder, and a 39% chance of having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Due to my wife and I being BP, research concludes that, "there is a 14-fold increase in the rate of bipolar spectrum disorder in youths who have biological parents with BD. If both parents have BD, the offspring are 3 times more likely to have BD" (Wagner, MD, PhD, 2010). Due to our diagnosis's, research shows that our child would have significantly more psychopathologies, behavioral disinhibition, hyperactivity, difficulty managing anger and hostile impulses, as well as severe manic and depressive episodes (Birmaher, MD et al.,2010).
Is it fair for the child to be born with emotional pain, mental confusion, and a possible lifetime of medications with unknown side effects? The real question is what should we do? Do we take the risk and hope for the best, or do we not have a baby, and live our lives regretting our decision, and feeling incomplete.
To be continued............................
References
Birmaher MD, B., Axelson MD, D., Goldstien MD, B., Monk RN, K., Kalas RN, C., Obreja, M., . . . Kupfer MD, D. (2010, March). Psychiatric disorders in preschool offspring of parents with bipolar disorder: The Pittsburgh bipolar offspring study (BIOS). Retrieved from ProQuest 5000 database. (Accession No. 220482997)
Wagner, MD, PhD, K. D. (2010, February 8). Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. Retrieved from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipolar-disorder/offspring-parents-bipolar-disorder
