“….In this issue, Rhee and colleagues (1) draw on data collected as part of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS) to provide an up-to-date and nationally representative description of recent trends in the pharmacotherapy of bipolar disorder. Extending from 1997 through 2016 and grouped into five 4-year epochs, the NAMCS survey data document several noteworthy changes in the outpatient care provided by psychiatrists in the United States, including trends in the medications they prescribe.                                                                                                              These data are important for several reasons. The condition that Kraepelin called “manic-depressive insanity” in the late 19th century (2) continues to be one of the several classical forms of severe psychiatric illness that have helped to define modern psychiatric practice. As the 100th anniversary of publication of the final edition of Kraepelin’s text nears, theconditions now grouped together as bipolar disorders remain among the world’s most important public health problems because the illness often begins in adolescence or young adulthood; is characterized by episodic recurrences and, not infrequently, runs a chronic or rapid cycling course; is associated with high rates of vocational impairment and disability; and results in a significant reduction in life expectancy, both from an increased risk of suicide and from cardiometabolic comorbidities (3)….”

Thase ME:   Charting Sea Changes in Outpstient Phsrmacotherapy of Bipolar Disorder.AmJ Psychiatry [Epub ahead of print, Aug. 1, 2020;  https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.2006084 ].

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20060849