{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T23:15:58Z","timestamp":1767914158097,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,18]],"date-time":"2025-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739836800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Lithium is the gold standard for treating Bipolar Disorder (BD), but its effectiveness varies widely. While clinical and environmental factors may influence response, it remains unclear if screening tools can reliably predict lithium response outcomes. This study explores this potential using two widely used screening instruments for BD. Methods: A total of 146 patients with BD were evaluated. Lithium response was assessed using the Alda Scale, while hypomanic and manic symptoms were characterized through the Hypomania Checklist-32 (HCL-32) and the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). Group differences in HCL-32 and MDQ scores were analyzed using ANOVA, and a multivariate model was employed to identify predictors of lithium response. Results: Of the total sample, 46 (31.5%) patients were identified as lithium responders based on the Alda Scale. Responders exhibited significantly higher HCL-32 scores compared to non-responders (p = 0.023), while no differences were observed in MDQ scores or other sociodemographic characteristics. Linear regression analysis revealed that HCL-32 scores were a significant predictor of Alda Scale scores, with no associations found for age, gender, or MDQ scores. Conclusions: Our study underscores the importance of considering hypomanic symptoms when estimating lithium response in BD, particularly by utilizing the HCL-32 during screening.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph18020269","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,18]],"date-time":"2025-02-18T12:16:37Z","timestamp":1739880997000},"page":"269","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Potential of Using Screening Tools for Bipolar Disorder to Predict Lithium Response"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Delfina","family":"Janiri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8254-9299","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Silvia","family":"Montanari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-7959-8419","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ester Maria","family":"Marzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-5393-4509","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Greta","family":"Sfratta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guglielmo","family":"Donofrio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexia","family":"Koukopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Lucio Bini, ARET\u00c6US Onlus, Via Crescenzio 42, 00193 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8139-9230","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni","family":"Camardese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Life Science, Health, and Health Professions, Link Campus University, 00165 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6963-7494","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessio","family":"Simonetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Moccia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gianna","family":"Autullo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9767-8752","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriele","family":"Sani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli 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