Many of us living with mental illness have other chronic illnesses. Often, we are not treated for our “physical” illnesses, as many doctors dismiss them as psychosomatic. “Mental” illnesses ARE “physical” illnesses, and “physical” illnesses affect our “mental” illnesses. We are not just our brains, just our bodies, just our minds, just our feelings, or just our souls. The more we learn, the more we understand interconnectedness and comorbidities.

The ALPIM Spectrum

In the Spring 2015 issue of the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, researchers proposed The ALPIM Spectrum:

  • A = Anxiety disorder (mostly panic disorder);
  • L = Ligamentous laxity (joint hypermobility syndrome, scoliosis, double-jointedness, mitral valve prolapse, easy bruising);
  • P = Pain (fibromyalgia, migraine and chronic daily headache, irritable bowel syndrome, prostatitis/cystitis);
  • I = Immune disorders (hypothyroidism, asthma, nasal allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome); and
  • M = Mood disorders (major depression, Bipolar II and Bipolar III disorder, tachyphylaxis. Two thirds of patients in the study with mood disorder had diagnosable bipolar disorder and most of those patients had lost response to antidepressants).

Study Conclusion

We conclude that patients with ALPIM syndrome possess a probable genetic propensity that underlies a biological diathesis for the development of the spectrum of disorders. Viewing patients as sharing a psychological propensity toward somatizing behavior essentially denies patients access to care for the diagnosable medical conditions with which they present.

– J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2015 Spring;27(2):93-103. doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.14060132

Download the Study

Should you want to read the journal article, I purchased the pdf version: A Novel Anxiety and Affective Spectrum Disorder of Mind and Body—The ALPIM (Anxiety-Laxity-Pain-Immune-Mood) Syndrome: A Preliminary Report (J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2015 Spring;27(2):93-103. doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.14060132). No copyright infringement intended.

Associations in ALPIM Domains

ALPIM SYNDROME FIGURE 5. A Schema Demonstrating Significant Associations Within and Between ALPIM Domains. Anxiety - Pain Attacks (included in Phenotype). Laxity - Joint Laxity Syndrome (Beighton), Mitral Valve Prolapse. Hernias. Scoliosis. Double-Jointedness. Easy Bruising. Pain - Fibromyalgia (included in Phenotype), Headache, Prostatitis and Cystitis. Immune - Asthma, Rhinitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hypothyroidism. Mood - Major Depressive Episode (included in Phenotype), Bipolar II Disorder, Bipolar III Disorder, Tachyphylaxis. This schematic diagram depicts, via line connections, significant associations within and between the ALPIM domains (see the Results for a description). Table 2 repors corresponding significant probability levels, odds ratios, confidence intervals, and Wald statistics. ALPIM, anxiety, laxity, pain, immune, mood.
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2015 Spring;27(2):93-103. doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.14060132

Diagram of Comorbidities

FIGURE 7. The ALPIM Syndrome: A Neuropsychosomatic Spectrum Disorder. Schematic Venn diagram showing the hypothesized spectrum of comorbidity in patients having a core anxiety disorder with laxity, pain, immune, and mood disorders. The overlapping circles demonstrate that comorbidities exist along a spectrum, in which a patient might have anywhere from just one disorder under one domain to multiple disorders under multiple overlapping domains. ALPIM, anxiety, laxity, pain, immune, mood.
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2015 Spring;27(2):93-103. doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.14060132

Bipolar III is cyclothymia, a “milder” form of bipolar than bipolar II.


Comments

4 responses to “The ALPIM Spectrum”

  1. […] Fuente del artículo […]

  2. Thank you, Christine! I’m still fighting COVID symptoms, but my mental health is stable.

  3. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Thanks for the information Kitt hope to you’re doing ok keep up the fab work xx huge hugs xx

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