Bipolar disorder is the most likely psychiatric disorder to be passed down from family. If one parent has bipolar disorder, there's a 10% chance that their child will develop the illness. If both parents have bipolar disorder, the likelihood of their child developing bipolar disorder rises to 40%.
Defects in mitochondrial DNA sequences may contribute to a predisposition to such complex diseases as diabetes and bipolar disorder. Therefore, if all bipolar disorder patients have mitochondrial predisposition genes, then the transition of bipolar disorder from the mother's side would be higher.
It's also thought bipolar disorder is linked to genetics, as it seems to run in families. The family members of a person with bipolar disorder have an increased risk of developing it themselves. But no single gene is responsible for bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder, especially the most severe type (type I), has a strong genetic component. Family studies suggest that a small number of genes of modest effect are involved in this disorder.
Studies show that if you have a sibling (or parent) with bipolar disorder, you are 4 to 6 times more likely to develop a bipolar disorder. However, many people in bipolar families do not get bipolar disorder.
Although bipolar disorder can occur at any age, typically it's diagnosed in the teenage years or early 20s. Symptoms can vary from person to person, and symptoms may vary over time.
Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally, as well as all races, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic classes. Although men and women appear to be equally affected by bipolar disorder, rapid cycling is seen more often in women. Women also tend to experience more depressive and mixed state episodes than do men.
They found that 12 risk genes for bipolar disorder were also linked to intelligence. In 75 % of these genes, bipolar disorder risk was associated with higher intelligence. In schizophrenia, there was also a genetic overlap with intelligence, but a higher proportion of the genes was associated with cognitive impairment.
The Genomind Pharmacogenetic (PGx) test looks at 24 genes related to mental health treatment and can be used to help determine medication options to manage bipolar disorder.
Childhood traumatic events are risk factors for developing bipolar disorders, in addition to a more severe clinical presentation over time (primarily an earlier age at onset and an increased risk of suicide attempt and substance misuse).
According to medical experts, bipolar disorder can also skip generations. Bipolar disorder is a complex condition, and scientists do not fully understand the role that genes play. A combination of many different genes likely increases a person's chance of developing this condition.
Bipolar disorder isn't well-understood, but we do know that there's a hereditary connection. If someone in your family has bipolar disorder, your risk of developing the condition is higher than for people without a family history of it. This doesn't mean that you'll definitely develop it, though.
Most studies, but not all, report an almost equal gender ratio in the prevalence of bipolar disorder but the majority of studies do report an increased risk in women of bipolar II/hypomania, rapid cycling and mixed episodes.
Bipolar disorder may also be genetic or inherited. However, it will usually not be passed to children. About one in 10 children of a parent with bipolar disorder will develop the illness. Nine out of 10 will not.
Drugs with a definite propensity to cause manic symptoms include levodopa, corticosteroids and anabolic-androgenic steroids. Antidepressants of the tricyclic and monoamine oxidase inhibitor classes can induce mania in patients with pre-existing bipolar affective disorder.
Although symptoms may come and go, bipolar disorder usually requires lifelong treatment and does not go away on its own. Bipolar disorder can be an important factor in suicide, job loss, ability to function, and family discord. However, proper treatment can lead to better functioning and improved quality of life.
To diagnose bipolar disorder, a doctor performs a physical exam, asks about your symptoms, and recommends blood testing to determine if another condition, such as hypothyroidism, is causing your symptoms. If the doctor does not find an underlying cause of your symptoms, he or she performs a psychological evaluation.
It is estimated that approximately 1.3% of Australians live with a form of bipolar disorder. One in 50 adult Australians experience bipolar disorder each year.
Unfortunately, there's no known way to prevent bipolar disorder because scientists don't know its exact cause. But it's important to know the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder and to seek early intervention.
Severe changes in mood — either extremely irritable or overly silly and elated. Overly-inflated self-esteem; grandiosity. Increased energy. Decreased need for sleep — able to go with very little or no sleep for days without tiring.
Long-term studies show that both major depression (unipolar and bipolar) and mania are most common in early adulthood and less common in older age. The prevalence of mania tends to decrease with age even more than depression. Mood symptoms in general decline with age, and the balance does shift more to depression.
Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental illness with the peak age of onset between 20 and 40 years. Yassa et al2 proposed age 50 as a cut off for the late onset bipolar disorder. They also reported that about 90 percent of cases have onset prior to age 50.
The authors found that the pooled life expectancy for patients with bipolar disorder, after removal of 1 outlier study, was 67.4 years (95% CI 65.2-69.7), with no evidence of publication bias. Life expectancy was significantly shorter in men (64.6) compared to women (70.5).
During manic episodes, people with bipolar disorder may experience a heightened sense of sexuality. It's only when this is paired with other symptoms of bipolar mania—including risk-taking, impulsivity, and poor judgment—that it can shift into problematic hypersexuality.