The co-occurrence of mania with medical and other psychiatric disorders

The co-occurrence of mania with other medical and psychiatric disorders has been little studied. The authors reviewed the literature in order to clarify the current state of knowledge of this subject and to identify possible areas of future research.

Published articles which specifically addressed associations of mania with medical disorders and other psychiatric syndromes were identified using the Paperchase medical literature search system and by cross-referencing from other published work. The articles were then organized into three categories: 1) medical disorders associated with secondary mania; 2) medical comorbidity in bipolar disorder; and 3) psychiatric comorbidity in bipolar disorder.

The review of medical illness and secondary mania supports the hypothesis that injuries involving right-side and mid-line brain structures are associated with so-called secondary mania. Additionally, an association between bipolar disorder and migraine is identified. Several psychiatric disorders appear to occur with mania at rates higher than expected including obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, panic disorder, impulse control disorders, and substance abuse.

The authors discuss the potential implications of these findings and suggest research approaches to further examine the relationships between mania and other medical and psychiatric syndromes.