Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the population.
46 million people worldwide experience bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder typically begins in early adolescence or early adulthood, it can sometimes start in early childhood or as late as 40 or 50.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health more than two-thirds of individuals with bipolar disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression, indicating that the disease has a heritable component.
An equal number of men and women develop bipolar disorder and it is found in all ages, races, ethnic groups and social classes.
According to the World Health Organization bipolar disorder is the sixth leading cause of disability in the world.
The National Institute of Mental Health found that bipolar results in a 9.2 reduction in expected life span, and as many as one in five patients completes suicide.
When one parent has bipolar disorder the risk to each child is 15 to 30%.
Some 20% of adolescents with major depression develop bipolar disorder within five years of the onset of depression.
According to webMD, 2006 up to 60% of people with any mental health disorder, including bipolar disorder, develop substance abuse disorders.
Though only half of diagnosed patients get treated for bipolar disorder within the same year, the National Institute of Mental Health found that 70% to 85% of patients on the appropriate medication successfully recover.