Prevalence and Correlates of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative

Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BP) is responsible for the loss of more disability-adjusted life-years than all forms of cancer or major neurologic conditions such as epilepsy and Alzheimer disease,¹ primarily because of its early onset and chronicity across the life span. Aggregate estimates of the prevalence of BP indicate that approximately 1.0% of the general population meet lifetime criteria for BP type I (BP-I).^2-7 Estimates of the lifetime prevalence of BP-II have been provided by only 1 investigation, which reported a median lifetime prevalence of 1.2%.³ A recent international review⁸ of both DSM-IV BP-I and BP-II in population studies yielded an aggregate cross-study lifetime prevalence estimate of 1.2%, ranging from 0.1% in Nigeria⁹ to 3.3% in the United States.¹⁰