Bipolar patients have a high risk for somatic comorbidities that need to be treated by non-psychiatrist medics. Factors related to unhealthy lifestyle, disease and treatment may confer some additional risk of morbidity in people with bipolar disorder.

The primary endpoint of the study was to detect risk factors for the development of somatic comorbidities in patients with bipolar disorder.

To identify somatic comorbidities in patients with bipolar disorder and to allow appropriate treatment to improve their quality of life.

The study was conducted by interviewing and physical examination of a group of 21 consecutive patients who were hospitalized between 1 to 28 February 2011 in the Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry “Socola” Iasi and were diagnosed with bipolar disorder according to DSM-IV-TR criteria.

Patients age range was 24 to 58 years. Of the subjects 57.1% were female and 42.9% men. The study shows that 38.1% of patients with bipolar disorder smoked regularly, and 47.6% consumed alcohol abusively. The most common somatic diseases associated were dyslipidemia 57.1%, obesity 52.4%, hypertension 38.1%, type 2 diabetes mellitus 33.3%, pulmonary disease 19.0%, hypertensive heart disease 28.6%, peripheral sensory polyneuropathy 23.8%, liver disease 15.3%, and angina pectoris 14.3%. Metabolic syndrome criteria were met in 33.3% of the patients.

The patients with bipolar disorders showed a high proportion of alcohol abuse and smoking. Most somatic diseases recorded were related to metabolic syndrome and other disturbances typically caused by unhealthy diet and lifestyle.