Epidemiology of suicide in bipolar disorders: a systematic review of the literature

<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>Suicidal behavior is a major public health problem worldwide, and its prediction and prevention represent a challenge for everyone, including clinicians. The aim of the present paper is to provide a systematic review of the existing literature on the epidemiology of completed suicides in adult patients with bipolar disorder (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BD</jats:styled-content>).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>We performed a Pubmed/Medline, Scopus, PsycLit, PsycInfo, and Cochrane database search to identify all relevant papers published between 1980 and 2011. A total of 34 articles meeting our inclusion criteria were included in the present review.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Several prospective follow‐up contributions, many retrospective analyses, and a few psychological autopsy studies and review articles investigated the epidemiology of completed suicides in patients with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BD</jats:styled-content>. The main finding of the present review was that the risk for suicide among <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BD</jats:styled-content> patients was up to 20–30 times greater than that for the general population.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>Special attention should be given to the characteristics of suicides in patients with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BD</jats:styled-content>. Better insight and understanding of suicide and suicidal risk in this very disabling illness should ultimately help clinicians to adequately detect, and thus prevent, suicidal acts in patients with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BD</jats:styled-content>.</jats:p></jats:sec>