Does lithium reduce the mortality of recurrent mood disorders?

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Pharmacology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Patients with mood disorders face elevated mortality risks, particularly from suicide, without prophylactic medication.
• Recurrent mood disorders are linked to excess mortality, necessitating effective long-term management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the long-term mortality rates of patients with mood disorders treated at a lithium clinic.
• To determine if lithium treatment influences the excess mortality associated with recurrent mood disorders, including suicide.

Main Methods:

• An 11-year follow-up study of 103 patients attending a lithium clinic.
• Comparison of observed mortality with expected mortality rates based on age, sex, and year-specific data for England and Wales.
• Calculation of relative risk after adjusting for mood disorder prevalence in the general population.

Main Results:

• Only 10 deaths occurred among the 103 patients over 11 years, compared to an expected 18.31 deaths (P = 0.052).
• No deaths by suicide were recorded in the study cohort.
• The adjusted relative risk of mortality was 0.60 (95% CI 0.29-1.12), suggesting a protective effect of lithium.

Conclusions:

• Lithium treatment appears to reverse the excess mortality associated with recurrent mood disorders.
• Lithium may offer a protective effect against suicide-related deaths in patients with mood disorders.
• Findings support the role of lithium in improving long-term outcomes for mood disorder patients.