Prevalence and Costs of Bipolar Disorder Higher Than Previously Estimated

While previous estimates of the prevalence of bipolar disorder have placed the rate at around 1 percent of the population in any given year, a new study at the Sixth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder suggests that 4.3 percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from a bipolar disorder or ’sub-threshold’ bipolar disorder — which includes those who don’t fit the precise clinical criteria for bipolar disorder but whose symptoms still severely impair their ability to perform daily tasks of living.

This higher incidence of bipolar disorder results in significantly lower productivity and significantly more days lost from work compared to major depressive disorder. According to the press release, on an annual basis, the mean number of lost days for someone with bipolar disorder is 49.5, versus 31.9 for someone with major depressive disorder.

In addition, nearly half of all U.S. suicide deaths each year are in patients with bipolar disorders, for whom the risk is more than 20 times that of the general population. Moreover, attempts made by bipolar patients have about a one-in-five chance of being lethal, compared to a one-in-20 attempt-to-suicide rate within the general population. Another study presented at the conference found that lithium, one of the oldest medications used in mental health, may be the single most effective psychopharmacological solution for preventing suicide in individuals with bipolar disorder.