In two different groups, people with bipolar disorder were four to six times more likely as people without the condition to die prematurely, the study finds.
By contrast, people who had ever smoked were about twice as likely to die prematurely than those who had never smoked – whether or not they had bipolar disorder.
In the Prechter cohort, people with bipolar disorder were much more likely to have asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, migraines, fibromyalgia and thyroid conditions than those who had not been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Well, fuck. Sorry for the downer, but thought it’s important to share.
My sister has bipolar and her health is a mess. Between the intense meds (lithium is the only thing that works for her) and the general chaos in her life, I’m pretty sure she’s going to be on the premature side of the line. She has tardive dyskinesia from meds, has already lost all her teeth, and she’s barely 50. It’s a miserable disease that is a bitch to treat effectively. I consider myself relatively lucky to only have treatment resistant depression.