Substance use
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Substance use

How is substance use related to bipolar disorder?

Various lines of evidence suggest an association between substance use and psychiatric disorders. In particular, use during adolescence or early adult life is now thought to be one of a number of environmental stressors that interact with genetic factors to predispose an individual to later bipolar disorder.

What is the evidence for substance use as a risk factor for bipolar disorder?

Moderate quality evidence suggests a medium to large effect of increased risk of bipolar disorder with prior cannabis use and a small to medium-sized effect of increased risk of bipolar disorder with prior opioid use.

Moderate to low quality evidence suggests medium-sized to large effects of increased risk of bipolar disorder with prior cocaine or tranquiliser use.

October 2021

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Last updated at: 1:06 am, 29th October 2021
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Fact Sheet Technical Commentary
Tags:  Substance use

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