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Bipolar disorder causes more disability than cancer, epilepsy, or Alzheimer disease. To determine the worldwide prevalence of bipolar I disorder (BP-I), bipolar II disorder (BP-II), and subthreshold bipolar illness (having 1 manic symptom but not meeting full hypomania criteria), researchers gave 61,392 adults structured diagnostic interviews in their homes in 11 countries on 5 continents.
Overall, lifetime and 1-year prevalences were 0.6% and 0.4% for BP-I, 0.4% and 0.3% for BP-II, and 1.4% and 0.8% for subthreshold bipolar illness. Lifetime and 12-month rates of all bipolar disorders were highest in the U.S. (4.4% and 2.8%, respectively). Approximately 76% of participants within the bipolar spectrum also met criteria for another lifetime d…