- Bipolar disorders comprise a clinical spectrum that includes bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia.
- Bipolar disorder was first recognized by Hippocrates (460 B.C. to 370 B.C.), the "father of medicine," who used the terms "amic" and "melancholic" to describe bipolar patients.
- Over 3 million people in the United States are diagnosed with bipolar disorder every year.
- The major risk factors for bipolar disorder include having other biological family members with bipolar disorder, periods of high stress, drug abuse and major life events such as the death of a loved one.
- Roughly 60 percent of bipolar disorder patients had their first symptoms when they were children or adolescents.
- The treatment of bipolar is based on the stage of illness, and is often classified into three phases: acute phase, continuation phase and maintenance phase.
- Patients with bipolar disorder are 20 to 25 times more likely to commit suicide in comparison to the general population.
