Treatment of bipolar disorder in older adults

It has been reported that 10% of all patients with bipolar disorder develop their illness after the age of 50, with bipolar disorder accounting for 5-19% of mood disorder presentations in the elderly. There has been a growing awareness regarding the manifestation of bipolar disorder among older adults due to both changes in national demographics, and developing sophistication in the treatment of bipolar illness. A persistent problem in our understanding of management of late life bipolar disorder is the paucity of research and rigorous published studies on the psychopharmacology of this condition.

This paper reviews medication treatments, non-medication biological therapies, and psychosocial interventions for bipolar disorder in late life with a particular emphasis on age related modifiers of treatment.

Findings are based upon review of the current literature.

There are multiple, significant gaps in our knowledge of bipolar disorder in late life which have important implications in the optimum treatment of elderly individuals with bipolar illness.

There are a number of areas of needed future research in late life bipolar disorder.