Older adults can develop bipolar disorder. Though it’s most common in people in their 20s and younger, you can be diagnosed with bipolar disorder at later ages.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that manifests with extreme shifts in mood. These shifts in mood range from mania, or extreme elation, to depression. Bipolar disorder often appears in a person’s teens and early 20s, but there’s now increasing attention to those diagnosed later in life.

Older adults who discover they have bipolar disorder may have been misdiagnosed throughout their lives or may just exhibit initial symptoms of the condition. There’s an ongoing effort to understand bipolar disorder in later life and learn how to treat it.

Bipolar disorder affects your mental state. It can cause episodes of mania and depression. These episodes can hurt all aspects of your life.

Someone with bipolar disorder can be in a state of extreme joy or extreme despair. These episodes can alter your ability to function. This, in turn, can make it difficult to sustain healthy relationships, keep jobs, and live a stable life.

Researchers aren’t sure what causes bipolar disorder or why it only affects some people. Genetics, brain functioning, and environment are factors that likely contribute to the disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition, but the symptoms can be treated. With effective treatment, those with bipolar disorder can live a full life. Some common treatment methods include:

Receiving an early diagnosis of bipolar disorder can make treatment and management easier. Nevertheless, many people are misdiagnosed and don’t realize they have bipolar disorder until later in life. This delays treatment. It may also result in inappropriate treatments.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), bipolar disorder can worsen if not treated. Furthermore, a person can experience more severe and frequent manic and depressive episodes with time.

滨迟’蝉 most common for bipolar disorder cases to begin before age 25, with more than 70% of cases being diagnosed between 15 and 24 years.

However, research also shows that another peak age range for bipolar is 45 to 54 years.

This is known as late-onset bipolar disorder (LOBD).

Most research considers bipolar disorder that begins at 50 years old or later to be LOBD. Between 5% and 10% of people with bipolar disorder will be at least 50 when they first show symptoms of mania or hypomania.

Yet, this landmark 2016 report from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force stated that nearly 25% of people with bipolar disorder are at least 60 years old.

It can be more difficult to correctly diagnose bipolar disorder symptoms in older adults because symptoms are often confused with other conditions.

These might include psychosis, sleep disturbance, and aggressiveness that may be confused with dementia or depressive disorder.

Typical medications to treat bipolar disorder include:

A doctor may prescribe a combination of these medications in conjunction with psychotherapy and other supportive methods.

When to seek medical help

If you’re concerned that you or a loved one has bipolar disorder, it’s important to talk with your doctor. People of all ages can have bipolar disorder. Don’t brush off severe changes in mood as a sign of aging.

You can learn more about specific symptoms to watch out for, from depressive to manic episodes.

If you think someone is at immediate risk of self-harm or hurting another person:

  • call 911 or your local emergency number
  • stay with the person until help arrives
  • remove any guns, knives, medications, or other things that may cause harm
  • listen, but don’t judge, argue, threaten, or yell

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, get help from a crisis or suicide prevention hotline. Call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or use the chat feature at 988Lifeline.org.

Research shows that although it’s most common to learn of a bipolar diagnosis before age 25, those who are older can also be diagnosed as bipolar. That can happen in the 40s and 50s, but some people may even have a diagnosis when they’re older.

Reasons why bipolar disorder later in life are the stigma attached to this mental illness, symptoms that may be misdiagnosed or missed by healthcare professionals, and a reluctance for some people to take the necessary steps to begin treatment.