A Thomson Reuters study found that those with Bipolar Disorder had a greater likelihood of having a wide range of health challenges.  This group was compared to those with no personal history of mental illness and no diagnosis of the disorder.

600,000 anonymous insurance claims were analyzed in the study.  Employers provided the insurance that these claims came from.

Study results showed that as compared to the control group, those suffering from bipolar disorder had a 3.13 times greater chance of having a bad reaction to medical treatment, such as brain injury or lithium toxicity. In fact, in the 2 year research project, about 7 percent had one bad reaction.

What were some of the health problems those with bipolar were more likely to suffer?

Those with bipolar were 1.68 times more likely to suffer from endocrine or metabolic problems than those without the disorder.

Women had problems with their reproductive systems.  In fact woman with bipolar disorder were 25% more likely to have a problem.  Problems included breast cancer and dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

Medication treatments may cause side effects. For instance, Lamictal may cause problems with the eyes and possibly result in the need for vision correction. Other drugs can indirectly effect employee productivity if they don’t address the manic depression symptoms well enough and, as a result, other treatments will need to be found for increasing productivity of the employee.  Still other drugs may cause anxiety as a side effect so anxiety relief may need to be sought.  Plus drug side affects can cause depression rather then treat it.  If you Google “depression forum” you will find discussion boards online that have a depression chat where more information can be found about the drugs whose side effects may include depression.

Another main area were neurological problems.  One-fourth of those with the disorder were more likely to have one neurological challenge or more.  Some of the problems included spinal cord injuries and headaches.  These occurred 2.27 times more among the bipolar disorder group in the study.

William D. Marder, Ph.D., is one of the study’s authors.  He said, “Medication use and behavioral characteristics are known to increase the risk of disease among bipolar patients, but much is still unknown about the reasons for increased rates of comorbidities among this population and ways to reduce them.”

“Our analysis underscores the urgent need for further exploration of how to best increase providers’ capacity to address, monitor and ultimately improve the psychiatric and physical health of their bipolar patients.”

Mental illness affects millions around the world.

The symptomology of various mental illnesses can vary depending on the disorder and other variables.  Symptoms can include physical problems, emotional expression, cognitive ability and behavior.

Types of mental illness include bipolar affective disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, anxiety attack symptoms, types of depression, borderline personality disorder symptoms, childhood disorders, and cognitive disorders.

Anxiety or fear that affects normal functioning may be an anxiety disorder.  Some categories of anxiety include Social Anxiety Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder symptoms (OCD symptoms).

When a person experiences not just the occasional winter blues but an unusual degree of sadness or despair they may be suffering from Clinical Depression.

When a person’s belief’s, language and way they perceive become disordered they may have a psychotic disorder.  For instance, they may be schizophrenic or have a delusional disorder.

There are disorders that seem to originate in the body, but are thought to be related to mental state.  These are referred to as somatoform disorders.

When a person has a problem with memory and thinking they may have a cognitive disorder.  There are many cognitive related illnesses, two of which include amnesia and Alzheimer’s disease.

There are other disorders that involve human functioning like eating disorders, sleep disorders, substance abuse and addictive disorders like gambling.

The causes of mental illnesses are not completely understood.  Problems come about from a combination of biochemical, biological, and environmental sources.

Biochemical causes are connected to the natural chemical processes in the body; therefore, some experts think of mental illness as a brain disorder.  In fact in imaging studies people with mental illness actually have different characteristics in their brains then those people who do not have mental illness.

In terms of biology, researchers believe that people who have a family history of mental illness may be more susceptible to it and the symptoms are more likely to express themselves under stressful life situations.

Environmental factors may play a role as well.  When there are hard to resolve difficult situations, like chronic illness, people can be more susceptible to emotional challenges short and long term.

How is one tested for mental illness?  There is not one test that determines whether someone has a mental illness, for instance there is not a  “bipolar test” to test for bipolar disorder.  Instead there are psychological and medical tests that aid in ruling out other causes for the symptoms.  The procedures include a physical exam, laboratory tests and psychological evaluations with a health care practitioner.  Some of the topics your doctor is likely to discuss with you are your feelings and behaviors.  They may have a depression chat, a chat about depression and the ways depression hurts.

If you believe you may be suffering from a mental illness please speak with your doctor.  In order to get an accurate diagnosis it is helpful to speak with a doctor who is quite familiar with the mental health field.