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Prevalence of Bipolar Disorder in Perinatal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Grace A Masters1,2, Julie Hugunin1, Lulu Xu1

  • 1University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
|July 13, 2022
PubMed

Insights

The perinatal period sees high rates of bipolar disorder (BD) and bipolar-spectrum mood episodes in women. Pregnant and postpartum women are a high-risk group needing specialized care.

Area of Science:

  • Perinatal mental health
  • Psychiatry
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Bipolar disorder (BD) diagnosis and management during the perinatal period remain challenging.
  • Understanding the prevalence of BD and mood episodes in pregnant and postpartum women is crucial for effective care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the overall prevalence of bipolar disorder (BD).
  • To determine the prevalence and timing of bipolar-spectrum mood episodes in perinatal women.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search across multiple databases (PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, etc.) from inception to March 2020.
  • Inclusion of original research in English focusing on perinatal participants (pregnant or within 12 months postpartum) aged ≥18 years, using BD screening/diagnostic tools.
  • Data extraction by 3 independent reviewers and pooled prevalence estimation using random-effects meta-analyses.

Main Results:

  • Twelve studies were included in the meta-analysis.
  • In women without prior psychiatric illness, the pooled prevalence of BD was 2.6%, with 20.1% experiencing bipolar-spectrum mood episodes during pregnancy/postpartum.
  • Among women with a prior BD diagnosis, 54.9% experienced at least one bipolar-spectrum mood episode in the perinatal period.

Conclusions:

  • The perinatal period is characterized by high rates of bipolar-spectrum mood episodes.
  • Pregnant and postpartum women constitute a high-risk population requiring targeted clinical attention and care recommendations.

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