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Bipolar Disorder Decoded

1440 Daily Digest

An international team of researchers has pinpointed 36 genes linked to bipolar disorder in the largest study conducted to date on the biological mechanisms underlying the condition. The findings could potentially help doctors intervene early and better diagnose and treat individuals at risk. 


Bipolar disorder (watch overview) is largely genetic, with an estimated heritability of around 80%, meaning there is a significant genetic predisposition to developing the chronic mental health condition. The disorder is characterized by intense mood swings between manic and depressive episodes, which can alter a person's energy levels, behavior, thinking patterns, and ability to function in daily life. Around 40 million to 50 million people worldwide experience bipolar disorder.


The findings also identified 298 genomic regions—specific locations in our DNA sequence—associated with bipolar disorder, of which 267 are newly discovered. Roughly 158,000 individuals with bipolar disorder and 2.8 million healthy individuals worldwide participated in the study. Learn more about genes here and DNA here.

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