OBJECTIVES: GAMIAN-Europe is a pan-European federation of national patient organizations from 30 European countries covering the whole spectrum of psychiatry. To gain a better understanding of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder (BD), GAMIAN-Europe undertook a detailed patient-based questionnaire, known as 'GAMIAN-Europe/BEAM Survey', examining a variety of aspects. METHODS: The questionnaire was mailed to 3450 patients from 12 member organizations in 11 countries. A total of 1760 completed questionnaires were received but 28 were ruled out as inappropriate. Of the remainder, 1041 respondents stated that they had been, or were, suffering from BD. The remainder stated that they were suffering from depression, dysthymia or atypical depression. RESULTS: The findings indicate that, on average, a bipolar patient is expected to wait for 5.7 years for a correct diagnosis from the first onset of symptoms. Many patients have a family history of mood and anxiety disorders. They experience a high degree of stigmatization from all quarters. This is reflected in the difficulties they experience in obtaining employment despite high academic achievement. Most patients receive combination therapy. Compliance problems resulting from adverse side-effects are less significant than in the past. Overall, the level of satisfaction with pharmacotherapy was high yet, paradoxically, patients had reservations about dependency issues and possible long-term side-effects. CONCLUSIONS: There was a clear need for more patient education about pharmacological and psychosocial interventions, despite material progress having been made over the past decade. There is an urgent need for more information and education for both relatives and the public in most European countries to improve awareness and understanding of BDs and other mood disorders and the doctor-patient dialogue.
OBJECTIVES: GAMIAN-Europe is a pan-European federation of national patient organizations from 30 European countries covering the whole spectrum of psychiatry. To gain a better understanding of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder (BD), GAMIAN-Europe undertook a detailed patient-based questionnaire, known as 'GAMIAN-Europe/BEAM Survey', examining a variety of aspects. METHODS: The questionnaire was mailed to 3450 patients from 12 member organizations in 11 countries. A total of 1760 completed questionnaires were received but 28 were ruled out as inappropriate. Of the remainder, 1041 respondents stated that they had been, or were, suffering from BD. The remainder stated that they were suffering from depression, dysthymia or atypical depression. RESULTS: The findings indicate that, on average, a bipolarpatient is expected to wait for 5.7 years for a correct diagnosis from the first onset of symptoms. Many patients have a family history of mood and anxiety disorders. They experience a high degree of stigmatization from all quarters. This is reflected in the difficulties they experience in obtaining employment despite high academic achievement. Most patients receive combination therapy. Compliance problems resulting from adverse side-effects are less significant than in the past. Overall, the level of satisfaction with pharmacotherapy was high yet, paradoxically, patients had reservations about dependency issues and possible long-term side-effects. CONCLUSIONS: There was a clear need for more patient education about pharmacological and psychosocial interventions, despite material progress having been made over the past decade. There is an urgent need for more information and education for both relatives and the public in most European countries to improve awareness and understanding of BDs and other mood disorders and the doctor-patient dialogue.
Authors: Michael Bauer; Tasha Glenn; Martin Alda; Ole A Andreassen; Raffaella Ardau; Frank Bellivier; Michael Berk; Thomas D Bjella; Letizia Bossini; Maria Del Zompo; Seetal Dodd; Andrea Fagiolini; Mark A Frye; Ana Gonzalez-Pinto; Chantal Henry; Flávio Kapczinski; Sebastian Kliwicki; Barbara König; Mauricio Kunz; Beny Lafer; Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo; Mirko Manchia; Wendy Marsh; Mónica Martinez-Cengotitabengoa; Ingrid Melle; Gunnar Morken; Rodrigo Munoz; Fabiano G Nery; Claire O'Donovan; Andrea Pfennig; Danilo Quiroz; Natalie Rasgon; Andreas Reif; Janusz Rybakowski; Kemal Sagduyu; Christian Simhandl; Carla Torrent; Eduard Vieta; Mark Zetin; Peter C Whybrow Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2012-05-21 Impact factor: 6.744
Authors: Elif M Sikoglu; Ana A Liso Navarro; Debra Starr; Yael Dvir; Benjamin Udoka Nwosu; Suzanne M Czerniak; Ryan C Rogan; Martha C Castro; Richard A E Edden; Jean A Frazier; Constance M Moore Journal: J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol Date: 2015-06 Impact factor: 2.576
Authors: Colin A Depp; David J Moore; Thomas L Patterson; Barry D Lebowitz; Dilip V Jeste Journal: Dialogues Clin Neurosci Date: 2008 Impact factor: 5.986