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Suicide risk

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Managing Bipolar Disorder in Clinical Practice

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Abstract

Patients with bipolar disorder are at extremely high risk for suicide. It is estimated that one-third to one-half of bipolar disorder patients attempt suicide at least once during their lifetime. The risk of suicide may be greater in bipolar II than bipolar I disorder, in light of the greater preponderance of recurrent severe depression, although the rates of attempted suicide are similar. In a meta-analysis of English language reports on the mortality of mental disorders, the overall rate of suicide among bipolar patients was estimated at 0.40 % per year, versus an international population average of 0.017 %. This equates to a standardized mortality ratio of 22, compared with around 20 in unipolar depression and 8.4 in schizophrenia. The annual risk of suicide attempts is about 0.9 %, which is 30- to 60-fold higher than the 0.015 % rate seen in the general population. Suicide attempts by patients with bipolar disorder have a very high risk of fatality. One in five suicide attempts by bipolar patients is completed, versus one in 10–20 in the general population. Bipolar patients may attempt suicide earlier during the index episode than other psychiatric patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Clinic of Barcelona Bipolar Disorders Program, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Eduard Vieta

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  1. Eduard Vieta
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Vieta, E. (2013). Suicide risk. In: Managing Bipolar Disorder in Clinical Practice. Springer Healthcare, Tarporley. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-908517-94-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-908517-94-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer Healthcare, Tarporley

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-908517-73-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-908517-94-4

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