Prevalence of bipolar disorder in a psychogeriatric population

Bipolar affective disorder arising for the first time in old age (60 years and over) has not been extensively studied. The authors present a prevalence study of mania arising after age 60. Of 217 patients admitted to our unit in a 2-year period, 10 (4.7%) showed symptoms of mania, using the DSM-III criteria. This constitutes 9.3% of 108 affective disorder patients admitted during the same period. An important factor in the precipitation of these attacks was marital discord, leading, in several cases, to separation, even in this age group.