Bipolar Disorder

How Common Is It?

Studies of the general population have found that 1% have bipolar disorder. The prevalence is the same in men and women. The prevalence of depression only, without manic episodes, is much higher- 10 to 25% of women and 5 to 12% of men have experienced an episode of major depressive disorder at some time in their life. Bipolar disorder most often begins during the teenage years or the 20s.

The depressive phase of bipolar disorder is a life-threatening disorder. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 30,000 deaths per year. Among teenagers, suicide is the third leading cause of death, and most suicides are linked to depression. Earlier in the century mania was a cause of death-patients died of exhaustion from the persistent hyperactivity. The life-saving nature of treatment of the manic phase of bipolar disorder is taken for granted today.

Possible causes

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