34 Facts About Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each.

Interest in functioning in the assessment of patients with bipolar disorder is growing, with an emphasis on specific domains such as work, education, social life, family, and cognition.

Around one-quarter to one-third of people with bipolar disorder have financial, social or work-related problems due to the illness.

Bipolar disorder is among the top 20 causes of disability worldwide and leads to substantial costs for society.

Substance use disorder is a common comorbidity in bipolar disorder; the subject has been widely reviewed.

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Causes of bipolar disorder likely vary between individuals and the exact mechanism underlying the disorder remains unclear.

Polymorphisms in BDNF, DRD4, DAO, and TPH1 have been frequently associated with bipolar disorder and were initially associated in a meta-analysis, but this association disappeared after correction for multiple testing.

Bipolar disorder is associated with reduced expression of specific DNA repair enzymes and increased levels of oxidative DNA damages.

Bipolar disorder is thought to be associated with abnormalities in the structure and function of certain brain areas responsible for cognitive tasks and the processing of emotions.

Additionally, these meta-analyses found that people with bipolar disorder have higher rates of deep white matter hyperintensities.

People with bipolar disorder who are in a euthymic mood state show decreased activity in the lingual gyrus compared to people without bipolar disorder.

One proposed model for bipolar disorder suggests that hypersensitivity of reward circuits consisting of frontostriatal circuits causes mania, and decreased sensitivity of these circuits causes depression.

Bipolar disorder is commonly diagnosed during adolescence or early adulthood, but onset can occur throughout life.

Bipolar disorder is classified by the International Classification of Diseases as a mental and behavioural disorder.

Mental disorders that can have symptoms similar to those seen in bipolar disorder include schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and certain personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder.

Bipolar II disorder was established as a diagnosis in 1994 within DSM IV; though debate continues over whether it is a distinct entity, part of a spectrum, or exists at all.

People with the rapid cycling or ultradian subtypes of bipolar disorder tend to be more difficult to treat and less responsive to medications than other people with bipolar disorder.

Diagnosis of bipolar disorder can be complicated by coexisting psychiatric conditions including obsessive–compulsive disorder, substance-use disorder, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social phobia, premenstrual syndrome, or panic disorder.

Psychotherapy aims to assist a person with bipolar disorder in accepting and understanding their diagnosis, coping with various types of stress, improving their interpersonal relationships, and recognizing prodromal symptoms before full-blown recurrence.

Medications approved for treating bipolar disorder including mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and antidepressants.

Antidepressants are not recommended for use alone in the treatment of bipolar disorder and do not provide any benefit over mood stabilizers.

Lifelong condition with periods of partial or full recovery in between recurrent episodes of relapse, bipolar disorder is considered to be a major health problem worldwide because of the increased rates of disability and premature mortality.

When compared to the general population, people with bipolar disorder have higher rates of other serious medical comorbidities including diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, HIV, and Hepatitis C virus infection.

For women, better social functioning before developing bipolar disorder and being a parent are protective towards suicide attempts.

Changes in cognitive processes and abilities are seen in mood disorders, with those of bipolar disorder being greater than those in major depressive disorder.

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When bipolar disorder occurs in children, it severely and adversely affects their psychosocial development.

Children and adolescents with bipolar disorder have higher rates of significant difficulties with substance use disorders, psychosis, academic difficulties, behavioral problems, social difficulties, and legal problems.

Individuals whose bipolar disorder begins with a depressive or mixed affective episode seem to have a poorer prognosis and an increased risk of suicide.

The number of deaths from suicide in bipolar disorder is between 18 and 25 times higher than would be expected in similarly aged people without bipolar disorder.

Incidence of bipolar disorder is similar in men and women as well as across different cultures and ethnic groups.

Bipolar disorder coined the term manic depressive psychosis, after noting that periods of acute illness, manic or depressive, were generally punctuated by relatively symptom-free intervals where the patient was able to function normally.

People with bipolar disorder are generally more disabled, have a lower level of functioning, longer duration of illness, and increased rates of work absenteeism and decreased productivity when compared to people experiencing other mental health disorders.

Stephen Fried, who has written extensively on the topic, noted that Fisher helped to draw attention to the disorder's chronicity, relapsing nature, and that bipolar disorder relapses do not indicate a lack of discipline or moral shortcomings.

Probands of people with bipolar disorder are more likely to be professionally successful, as well as to demonstrate temperamental traits similar to bipolar disorder.