Features associated with thought disorder in manic patients at 2-4-year follow-up

The authors assessed 47 formerly hospitalized manic patients for thought disorder 2-4 years after discharge and studied the relationship between thought disorder and other major clinical variables. Fourteen (30%) of the manic patients showed severe positive thought disorder 2-4 years after hospitalization. Partial correlations and multiple regression analyses indicated that thought disorder at follow-up was most closely related to the presence of manic behavior and psychosis. It was also more frequent in manic patients with poor posthospital functioning and in manic patients with multiple previous manic episodes or a more chronic course of illness.