Patients with bipolar disorder have three times the average population risk of developing dementia, according to findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The results also indicate that lithium treatment for patients with bipolar disorder nearly halves the risk of dementia.

In a meta-analysis, an international team of researchers, including Professor Michael Berk, from Deakin University’s School of Medicine, in Melbourne, examined 10 studies on bipolar disorder as a risk factor for dementia, and another five studies on the protective effect of lithium.

Many of the studies, which were obtained from an extensive database search, used the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases to assess bipolar disorder and diagnose dementia.