Increased Subsequent Risk of Peptic Ulcer Diseases in Patients With Bipolar Disorders

Previous studies have reported that patients with bipolar disorders (BDs) exhibit increased physical comorbidity and psychological distress. Studies have shown that schizophrenia and anxiety increase the risk of peptic ulcer diseases (PUDs). Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the association between these 2 diseases and examine the possible risk factors. We used patients diagnosed with BDs from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort comprising patients without BDs was frequency matched by age, sex, and comorbidities, and the occurrence of PUDs was evaluated in both the cohorts. The BD and non-BD cohort consisted of 21,060 patients with BDs and 84,240 frequency-matched patients without BDs, respectively. The incidence of PUDs (hazard ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-1.59; P < 0.001) was higher among the patients with BDs than the control patients. Cox models showed that irrespective of comorbidities, BDs were an independent risk factor for PUDs. Patients with BDs exhibit a substantially higher risk for developing PUDs. According to our data, we suggest that, following a diagnosis of BD, practitioners could notice the occurrence of PUD and associated prevention. Further prospective clinical studies investigating the relationship between BDs and PUDs are warranted.