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Bipolar disorder statisticsWhat the statistics show us is that the disorder is more common than many realize. BUT - the figures vary from source to source: NARSAD, the Mental Health Research Association state that: "More than 2 million American adults or 1 percent of the population age 18 or older in any given year have bipolar disorder." According to the drug company AstraZeneca's bipolar statistics: "Between 3 and 4 % of the world’s adult population is affected by bipolar disorder. That is 222 million adults worldwide." And according to the latest bipolar statistics quoted by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) "Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year." (National Institute of Mental Health) According to Dr Wes Burgess in his book, The Bipolar Handbook: Real-Life Questions with Up-to-Date Answers, Penguin 2006: "It is estimated that 2 to 7% of people in the United States suffer from bipolar disorder. Almost 10 million people wll develop the illness sometimes during their lives. About half of these will never receive the correct diagnosis or treatment." IN OTHER WORDS - You are not alone! - In Australia it is approximately 238,957 people. - In the United Kingdom it is approximately 723,248 people. - In Germany it is approximately 989,095 people. - In Canada it is approximately 390,094 people. - In Iran it is approximately 810,038 people. And for both India and China, each have somewhere bewteen 12 - 15 million people who are bipolar! Bipolar disorder statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), indicate bipolar disorder is the 6th leading cause of disability in the world. Particularly interesting are the figures from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):
The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America.
Everyone should take a look at this information. As well as bipolar disorder statistics, you can see the figures for suicides, for common comorbid conditions such as panic and anxiety and contrast the statistics of different conditions such as schizophrenia.
Who gets it?The median age of onset for bipolar disorder is 25 years (NIMH). However, the disorder can begin in childhood and sometimes doesn't manifest until a person is much older - in their 40's and 50's.It is an equal opportunity disorder, affecting people of all races, ethnic groups and socio-economic backgrounds. Also according to NIMH, it is an inherited disease. More than two-thirds of people with the disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression. When one parent is affected, the risk to each child is 15-30%. When both parents have the disorder, the risk increases to 50-75%.
A women's disease?Despite the stereotypes, men and women are affected in equal numbers. However, research does show some differences in how the disorder develops:- women are 3 times more likely than men to experience rapid cycling. (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 58, 1995 [Suppl.15]) - women may have more depressive episodes and more mixed episodes than men. (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 58, 1995 [Suppl.15]) Other interesting research from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) in 2000 showed a gender bias - women are far more likely to be misdiagnosed with depression and men are far more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
Diagnosis disasterOther DBSA bipolar disorder statistics from 2000 shows that people with the disorder suffer through as long as 10 years of coping with symptoms before getting diagnosed accurately.Only 1 person in 4 receives an accurate diagnosis in less than 3 years! According to Dr Wes Burgess in his Bipolar Handbook: "A recent study showed that almost 70% of bipolar patients had been misdiagnosed more than 3 times before receiving their correct diagnosis". This high incidence of delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis may explain why the bipolar disorder statistics around suicide are so appalling: - the disorder results in 9.2 years reduction in expected life span - up to 1 in 5 bipolar people completes suicide. (NIMH) In the book Why am I still depressed? (McGraw-Hill 2006), Dr Jim Phelps states "the suicide rate in Bipolar II is as high as, and in some studies higher than, in Bipolar I". According to Dr Wes Burgess in his book, The Bipolar Handbook: Real-Life Questions with Up-to-Date Answers, Penguin 2006: "30% of individulas with bipolar disorder will attempt suicide during their lives, and 20% will succeed . . . . Suicide is more common in bipolar depression than in unipolar major depression, panic disorder, or even schizophrenia. HOWVER, THE SUICIDE RATE GOES DOWN DRAMATICALLY WITH ADEQUATE TREATMENT".
Good news!Success rates of with lithium treatment vary from highs of 70 to 85% to lows of 40 to 50%. (Surgeon General Report for Mental Health)Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers with bipolar disorder are satisfied with their current medication(s), although side effects remain a problem. (DBSA, 1999) Consumers who report high levels of satisfaction with their treatment and treatment provider have a much more positive outlook about their illness and their ability to cope with it. (DBSA, 1999) Bipolar statistics show the picture for people adhering to treatment plans, especially mood stabilizers, as actually very positive! In particular, bipolar statistics show that combining psychotherapy with medications such as lithium is especially effective: - using Family-Focused Treatment (FFT) in addition to medication produced significantly less relapse (11%) than medication alone (61%) over a 9 month folow-up period - a 2001 study showed using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in combination with medication reduced particpants' depressive symptoms by 7.3% vs a 2.5% increase in the control group - this study also found a 60% reduction in relapse when CBT was used. (Bipolar disorder statistics on psychotherapy benefits evidence all cited from the book "Bipolar Disorder: the latest treatment and assessment strategies" by Dr Trisha Suppes and Dr Ellen Dennehy, Compact Clinicals 2005.) Free online CBT
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