Increased Parkinson's Disease Risk Seen in Bipolar Disorder Patients

Patients with bipolar disorder have a significantly raised risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to the general population, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

This study, called a systematic review and meta-analysis, combined the results of seven studies with 4.3 million participants to examine a potential association between bipolar disorder with a later diagnosis of Parkinson's disease of unknown cause.

‘Patients with a mood disorder are three times more likely to end up with Parkinson's.’

The findings suggest that a previous diagnosis of bipolar disorder was associated with an increased likelihood of a subsequent Parkinson's disease diagnosis, but subgroup analyses suggest the possibility of an overestimation of the magnitude of the associations.

The main limitation of the study is analysis that suggests a greater likelihood of a Parkinson's disease diagnosis in shorter studies, which raises concerns over misdiagnosis.

Source: Eurekalert