Differential prescription of maintenance antipsychotics to African American and white patients with new-onset bipolar disorder.

Abstract

Antipsychotic medications are commonly prescribed as maintenance pharmacotherapy for patients with bipolar disorder. However, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have yet to demonstrate a significant prophylactic effect of maintenance antipsychotic use in bipolar disorder, and long-term use of antipsychotics may place the patient at risk for neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia. African American patients may be at increased risk because excess antipsychotic prescription appears to be common in this population, although this issue has not been longitudinally studied in bipolar disorder.