Suicidal Behavior During Lithium and Valproate Treatment: A Within-Individual 8-Year Prospective Study of 50,000 Patients With Bipolar Disorder
Song J1, Sjölander A1, Joas E1, Bergen SE1, Runeson B1, Larsson H1, Landén M1, Lichtenstein P1.
Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Jun 9:appiajp201716050542. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16050542. [Epub ahead of print]
Although both Lithium and Sodium Valproate are useful medications for the treatment of bipolar disorder, this study involving multiple Swedish registers showed that only Lithium reduces the risk of suicide-related events by 14%. This finding is worth considering when deciding which medication to prescribe.