Bipolar disorder and the risk of developing dementia - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

To present an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis on the risk of dementia in patients with bipolar disorder. We included 22 studies investigating the risk of developing dementia among patients with bipolar disorder of which 21 studies provided data for the meta-analysis, comprising a total of 185 306 patients with bipolar disorder and 10 702 744 participants without bipolar disorder. Random effects meta-analysis showed an increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia in patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder [odds ratio (OR): 3.13 (95% CI: 2.40-4.09), I2 = 99.8%, 21 studies]. In a secondary analysis excluding studies with overlapping populations, the pooled effect estimate was OR = 2.60 (95% CI 1.76-3.85, I2 = 99.9%, 11 studies). The evidence was uncertain due to substantial and unexplained between-study heterogeneity, methodological limitations, and risk of bias in the included studies. Patients with bipolar disorder have an increased risk of developing dementia, but the evidence is uncertain.