Globe and Mail Update Published on Friday, Feb. 15, 2008 11:14PM EST Last updated on Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 3:02PM EDT
It is the most lethal of psychiatric illnesses. Fifteen per cent of sufferers die prematurely, whether due to suicide, reckless behaviours such as driving too fast, or cardiac arrest (given the biological stresses of prolonged bouts of mania). In comparison, the premature death rate for schizophrenia is 8 to 10 per cent.
Bipolar sufferers have the most episodes or flare-ups. While people with depression might have three major bouts in 20 years, people with bipolar disorder can have three major episodes every year, and more than 20 in their lifetime.
It has the most presentations, making it the most difficult to diagnose. People might present as depressed or, in the height of a manic episode, appear delusional and be diagnosed with schizophrenia. As well, 70 per cent of people with bipolar disorder also have anxiety problems, and 60 per cent are alcoholic. In a mixed state of depression and mania, they can appear hysterical and be mistaken as overemotional instead of having a psychiatric disorder.
Source: Sagar Parikh, deputy chief of psychiatry at the University Health Network and psychiatrist at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
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