Early diagnosis of bipolar disorders may improve suicide rates among adolescents: JAMA

Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to analyse the sex-segregated, regional, and yearly ASM rates in adolescents aged 15 to 19 per 100,000 people.

The key findings of this study were:

1. Nearly three times as many female teenagers as male adolescents received a bipolar illness diagnosis in the past year.

2. In comparison to the national median, regional prevalence rates of bipolar disorder in males and females, respectively, ranged by a ratio of 0.46 to 2.61 and 0.00 to 1.82.

3. Independent of lithium medication and psychiatric care affiliation rates, the prevalence of bipolar illness diagnoses was negatively correlated with male ASM.

4. After correcting for yearly regional diagnostic rates of major depressive disorder and schizophrenia, both models with a dichotomized quartile 4 ASM variable that reproduced this link were robust.

5. For females, no such connection was seen.

The outcomes could be linked to treatment effectiveness, advantages of early diagnosis (and management), or other unaccounted-for factors that may be connected to local rates of youth bipolar disorder diagnosis, adding to the body of knowledge about the benefits of early diagnosis and management.

Reference: 

Andersson, P., Jokinen, J., Jarbin, H., Lundberg, J., & Desai Boström, A. E. (2023). Association of Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis With Suicide Mortality Rates in Adolescents in Sweden. In JAMA Psychiatry. American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.1390