Suicide and bipolar disorder: opportunities to change the agenda
A new piece written by Tania Gergel, the Director of Research at Bipolar UK, provides a vignette of bipolar disorder and suicide. Dr. Melvin McInnis and Dr. Frances Adiukwu collaborate for the article.
Globally, approximately 15–20% of people with bipolar disorder die by suicide, with 30–60% making at least one attempt, and these attempts use more lethal means than attempts among the general population. These rates are not decreasing despite an overall decline in global suicide rates. Suicide in people with bipolar disorder is associated with psychopathology and causes death, injury, and trauma, alongside wider socioeconomic costs. Suicide deaths are a major contributory factor in premature mortality from bipolar disorder, which occurs up to 20 years earlier than within the general population. Nevertheless, neither bipolar disorder nor suicide in people with bipolar disorder are research priorities, resulting in major knowledge gaps in both. This can and must change.
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