Letters
Bipolar affective disorder
BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7343.976 (Published 20 April 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:976
Suicide statistics were misleading
- Thomas J P Verberne (verberne@melbpc.org.au), clinical neuropsychologist (retired)
- 14 Crampton Crescent, Rosanna, Victoria 3084, Australia
- University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX
EDITOR—Morriss et al say that the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts in people with bipolar affective disorder is 50% and that this figure could be reduced by treatment.1 I have two comments.
Firstly, the lifetime prevalence of completed suicides among bipolar patients is of an order of magnitude less than 50% and is not significantly different from that of people suffering from schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, alcohol dependency, or …
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