Bipolar Disorder Often Untreated

March 30, 2011 Posted by admin

Bipolar disorder impacts 2.4% of adults worldwide, but the situation is typically untreated, especially in middle-income and low-income nations, a brand new study finds.

The study, according to a survey of 61,392 adults from 11 countries, located that in high-income nations, 50.2% of study participants reported finding psychological wellness treatment. That?¡¥s when compared with 33.9% in middle-income nations and 25.2% in low-income nations.

Researchers say it?¡¥s the very first international estimate with the prevalence and severity of bipolar spectrum disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a serious psychological illness that causes dramatic changes in mood, ranging from mania to depression.

Researchers say bipolar disorder (BP) is accountable for the loss of more disability-adjusted life years than all types of cancer or other neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer?¡¥s and epilepsy.

?¡ãIn light of the disability linked with BP, the lack of psychological wellness treatment among these with BP, specifically in low-income countries, is alarming,?¡À researcher Kathleen R. Merikangas, PhD, with the National Institute of Mental Wellness in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues write inside the Archives of Common Psychiatry. ?¡ãOnly one-quarter of those with BP in low-income nations and only half of these in high-income nations had contacted mental health services.?¡À