Our results suggest a high rate of lifetime concurrent anxiety disorders in bipolar disorder .
The diagnostic issues at the interface are particularly difficult because of the substantial symptom overlap .
BACKGROUND Bipolar affective disorder has a high rate of comorbidity with a multitude of psychiatric disorders and medical conditions .
Among all the potential comorbidities , co-existing anxiety disorders st and out due to their high prevalence .
AIMS To determine the lifetime prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorders in bipolar affective disorder under the care of psychiatric services through systematic review and meta- analysis .
Lifetime prevalence of substance or alcohol abuse and dependence among subjects with bipolar I and II disorders in a voluntary registry.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of substance abuse dependence and /or alcohol abuse dependence among subjects with bipolar I versus bipolar II disorder in a voluntary registry . METHOD One hundred r and omly selected registrants in a voluntary case registry for bipolar disorder were interviewed , using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders , to vali date the diagnosis of this registry . Corroborative information was obtained from medical records , family members and the treating psychiatrist . Eighty-nine adults ( 18 - 65 years ) met criteria for bipolar disorder ( bipolar I = 71 , bipolar II = 18 ) and were included in this analysis . RESULTS Forty-one ( 57.8 % ) subjects with bipolar I disorder abused , or were dependent on one or more substances or alcohol , 28.2 % abused , or were dependent on , two substances or alcohol , and 11.3 % abused or were dependent on three or more substances or alcohol . Nearly 39 % of bipolar II subjects abused or were dependent on one or more substances , nearly 17 % were dependent on two or more substances or alcohol , and 11 % were dependent on three or more substances or alcohol . Alcohol was the most commonly abused drug among either bipolar I or II subjects . CONCLUSIONS Consistent with other epidemiologic and hospital population studies , this voluntary bipolar disorder registry suggests a high prevalence of comorbidity with alcohol and /or substance abuse dependence . Bipolar I subjects appear to have higher rates of these comorbid conditions than bipolar II subjects ; however , as the number of bipolar II subjects was rather small , this suggestion needs confirmation
Our results suggest a high rate of lifetime concurrent anxiety disorders in bipolar disorder .
The diagnostic issues at the interface are particularly difficult because of the substantial symptom overlap .
BACKGROUND Bipolar affective disorder has a high rate of comorbidity with a multitude of psychiatric disorders and medical conditions .
Among all the potential comorbidities , co-existing anxiety disorders st and out due to their high prevalence .
AIMS To determine the lifetime prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorders in bipolar affective disorder under the care of psychiatric services through systematic review and meta- analysis .