Cardiometabolic and endocrine comorbidities in women with bipolar disorder: A systematic review
Mehak Pahwa1, Mehmet U Kucuker2, Man Choi Ho2
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Louisville, Kentucky.
Insights
Women with bipolar disorder (BD) have higher rates of metabolic and thyroid disorders compared to men with BD. This highlights the need for gender-specific screening and interventions for medical comorbidities in bipolar disorder patients.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Endocrinology
- Cardiovascular Health
- Medical Comorbidities
Background:
- Bipolar disorder (BD) affects men and women equally, but medical comorbidities negatively impact illness course.
- Women with BD may experience higher rates of psychiatric and medical comorbidities than men with BD.
- Understanding gender differences in BD comorbidities is crucial for effective treatment.
Approach:
- Systematic literature review of cardiovascular, metabolic, and endocrine comorbidities in women with BD.
- Searched major electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, SCOPUS).
- Included 61 studies for comprehensive analysis.
Key Points:
- Women with BD showed higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors/mortality, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and thyroid disorders compared to the general female population.
- Compared to men with BD, women with BD had similar cardiovascular risk but increased prevalence of metabolic and thyroid disorders.
- Limited gender-specific data was available across multiple studies.
Conclusions:
- The findings underscore the necessity for gender-specific screening and targeted interventions for medical comorbidities in individuals with BD.
- Addressing these disparities can improve the management and outcomes for women with bipolar disorder.
- Further research is needed to address limitations in gender-specific data collection.
Introduction:
Bipolar Disorder (BD) is known to be equally distributed among males and females. The well-documented increased risk of medical comorbidities in patients with BD, in comparison to BD patients without medical comorbidities, shows a negative impact on the course of illness. There is some evidence suggesting that women with BD have higher psychiatric and medical comorbidities in comparison to men with BD, however there is no evidence in comparison to women without BD or other major psychiatric illness. These comorbidities, along with various psychosocial factors, are known to affect the course of BD.
Methods:
We aimed to systematically review the literature on cardiovascular, metabolic and endocrine comorbidities in women with BD in comparison to men with BD and control women. A comprehensive search of electronic databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and SCOPUS was conducted, and a total of 61 identified studies were included in this review.
Results:
Women with BD had higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors/mortality, diabetes mellitus II and thyroid disorders compared to women in the general population. In comparison to men with BD, women with BD had comparable cardiovascular risk but higher prevalence of metabolic and thyroid disorders.
Limitations:
Gender specific data was limited in multiple studies.
Conclusions:
Results present a need for gender-specific screening and interventions for various medical comorbidities in patients with BD.
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