Evolution of bipolar disorder over 12 years in a psychiatric hospital

Abstract

IntroductionBipolar disorder is a leading cause of hospitalization in psychiatric hospitals. It is known that early detection of bipolar disorder is associated with a better prognosis.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to conduct a demographic analysis of patients hospitalized for bipolar disorder in a single center between 2003 to 2014.MethodsRetrospective cohort study of 1230 patients admitted with bipolar disorder diagnosis from 2003 to 2014 at Centre Assistencial Emili Mira i López of Parc Salut Mar of Barcelona. We divided the study in two periods: 2003–2008 and 2009–2014. We analyzed the following variables: frequency of admissions, age, sex and days of hospital stay, comparing both periods. Chi-square test for categorical variables and Student t test for quantitative variables were applied.ResultsThe mean ages at the first and second period are 52 and 47, respectively (P < 0.001). There are no significant differences in sex and days of hospitalization. The frequency of admissions on the first and third trimesters is higher than in the second and fourth, although the differences are not statistically significant.ConclusionsDespite the large number of patients in the study, there are limitations, such as being a retrospective study and not being adjusted for confounding factors. The average age of patients in the second period is lower than in the first. This could suggest an improvement in early detection of bipolar disorder in the last years. Further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.Disclosure of interestLG is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III(CM14/00111).