Fifty-five of the 58 adult offspring of 17 bipolar manic-depressives were studied. Fifty-three were interviewed and some data were available on the two who had committed suicide. A detailed educational history and pregnancy and birth (paranatal) history were obtained and were corroborated by records where available. Thirty-two percent of the offspring met RDC criteria for major affective disorder, and 13 percent for minor affective disorder. Paranatal and educational problems, separately and together, were not associated with an enhanced risk to affective disorder, however they were significantly associated with an earlier onset to affective disorder. This association may be partly due to a relatively lower IQ among the early onset subjects.
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