'U-Shaped' Relationship Between Bipolar Risk and Parental Age
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Individuals born to younger or older parents are at increased risk of developing bipolar disorder, new research suggests. Results from a meta-analysis of more than 210,000 patients with bipolar disorder and over 13 million healthy individuals showed that children of mothers younger than 20 years had a 23% increased risk for bipolar disorder vs those whose parents were aged 25-29 years. For participants whose mothers were aged 35-39 years, there was a 10% increased risk for bipolar disorder, which rose to 20% if the mother was age 40 or older.
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@jeffy Previous studies have suggested that parental age at birth is a risk factor for several psychiatric disorders in offspring, including bipolar disorder, and that advanced parental age, specifically, is associated with earlier onset schizophrenia. To investigate further, the current researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and PsychINFO databases for relevant studies published to December 1, 2021. From 712 studies initially identified, 16 met all the inclusion criteria and 14 were included in the quantitative analysis.