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Demographic and clinical characteristics of lithium-treated older adults with bipolar disorder

  • GAGE-BD initiative
  • Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Spain.
  • Dalhousie University
  • School of Women's and Infants' Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia.
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA; Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
  • Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
  • Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
  • University of California San Diego School of Medicine , San Diego, California , USA.
  • McLean Hospital, Belmont, United States
  • 7 Center for Pulmonary Vascular Biology and Medicine, Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Institute of Neuropathology; IDIBELL-University Hospital Bellvitge, University of Barcelona; Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, 08908, Spain.
  • University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • Montreal Neurological Institute and McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: There is limited information on the characteristics of older adults with bipolar disorder (OABD) treated with lithium, along with safety concerns about its use by older adults. The aim of the present study is to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of OABD receiving lithium therapy, using data from the Global Ageing & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder (GAGE-BD).

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES: Cross-sectional analysis of the GAGE-BD dataset to determine differences and similarities between lithium users and non-users. We analysed data from 986 participants aged 50 years or older (mean age 63.5 years; 57.5% females) from 12 study sites. Two subgroups ('Lithium'; 'Non-lithium') were defined according to the current prescription of lithium. We compared several outcomes between these groups, controlling for age, gender, and study site.

RESULTS: OABD treated with lithium had lower scores on depression rating scales and were less likely to be categorised as with moderate or severe depression. There was a lower proportion of lithium users than non-users among those with evidence of rapid cycling and non-bipolar psychiatric diagnoses. Assessment of global cognitive state and functionality indicated better performance among lithium users. The current use of antipsychotics was less frequent among lithium users, who also reported fewer cardiovascular comorbidities than non-users.

CONCLUSION: We found several potentially relevant differences in the clinical profile of OABD treated with lithium compared with those treated with other mood stabilisers. However, the interpretation of the present results must take into account the methodological limitations inherent to the cross-sectional approach and data harmonisation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)442-455
Number of pages14
JournalActa psychiatrica Scandinavica
Volume146
Issue number5
Early online date15 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • bipolar disorder
  • lithium
  • older adults
  • pharmacology

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