Reducing Suicide Risk in Bipolar Disorder: The Impact of Lithium, Valproate, and Atypical Antipsychotics in Long-Term Treatment

Highlight

• Long-term lithium and valproate monotherapy significantly reduce suicide risk in bipolar disorder patients.
• Atypical antipsychotics, when combined with lithium or valproate, further decrease suicide incidence.
• The study utilizes a large nationwide Korean cohort with comprehensive real-world healthcare claims data.
• Findings underscore the importance of optimizing pharmacotherapy to reduce suicide attempts and deaths in bipolar disorder.

Study Background