MedWire News: Anxiety does not increase the risk of suicide among individuals with bipolar disorder, study results suggest.

Previous research on the link between anxiety and bipolar disorder has been mixed, explain lead study investigator Dr Atsuo Nakagawa, from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, and colleagues. While some studies have shown a positive association, others have not.

Dr Nakagawa and his research team studied 116 bipolar patients with and without accompanying lifetime anxiety disorder. They evaluated the effect of anxiety on past suicide attempts and also, on how significantly patients thought about or planned suicide, called suicide ideation, without actually carrying their plans through.

Study findings showed that contrary to previous research, bipolar patients with and without a lifetime anxiety disorder were similar in terms of suicide attempt rates. Additionally, suicide ideation was less severe in patients with anxiety disorders. Both of these findings were further supported by statistical analysis. In contrast, personality disorders increased suicide attempt rates and suicide ideation severity in patients with bipolar disorder with bipolar disorder.

"Our findings show that while anxiety disorder does not appear to increase suicide in bipolar disorder, dramatic or erratic personality disorder does," conclude the researchers in the journal Bipolar Disorders.

This suggests that when assessing suicide risk in bipolar disorder, physicians should also consider evaluation and treatment of personality disorders.