Bipolar disorder among adolescents and young adults: results from an epidemiological sample.
BACKGROUND
Over the past decade, the clinical recognition and treatment of bipolar disorder (BD) in youth have increased significantly; however, little is known about prevalence of and service use for this disorder at a population level. The objective of this study was to measure the lifetime prevalence of BD, and to describe the socio-demographics, comorbidities, and use of mental health services among 15-24-year-olds with BD.


METHODS
Data were extracted from the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS 1.2), a representative population-based survey of 36,984 people age 15 and older. Among subjects age 15-18 and 19-24 (N=5673), we calculated lifetime prevalence rates of BD and report the demographic and clinical characteristics and rates of service use of this sample.


RESULTS
The weighted lifetime prevalence of BD was 3.0% among 15-24-year-olds (N=191): 2.1% among 15-18-year-olds, and 3.8% among 19-24-year-olds. Rates of psychiatric comorbidity were high, with anxiety disorders, problematic substance use, and suicidality present among nearly half of the sample. Mental health services were accessed in the previous 12 months by 56.1% of youth with BD.


CONCLUSIONS
The questionnaire used in CCHS 1.2 relied on self-report, limiting its applicability to this younger sample.


CONCLUSIONS
BD is particularly common among young adults and there are specific factors associated with BD in youth. Nearly half of all youth with BD have never used mental health services, suggesting that clinicians should be more vigilant about the signs and symptoms of BD in young people.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada. n.kozloff@utoronto.ca
Nicole
N
Kozloff
Amy H
AH
Cheung
Ayal
A
Schaffer
John
J
Cairney
Carolyn S
CS
Dewa
Scott
S
Veldhuizen
Paul
P
Kurdyak
Anthony J
AJ
Levitt
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002170:Canada; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
D013287:Illicit Drugs