Bipolar Disorder in Turkey/Turkiye'de Bipolar Bozukluk

• Published in: Psikiyatride güncel yaklaşimlar 2014-03, Vol.6 (2), p.199
• Main Authors: Gultekin, Bulent Kadri, Kesebir, Sermin, Tamam, Lut
• Format: Article
• Language: Turkish
• Subjects: Bipolar disorder; Epidemiology; Medical research; Mental health services; Urbanization
• ISSN: 1309-0658
• DOI: 10.5455/cap.20130920014550

Assessment of studies related with bipolar disorder in Turkey did not reveal an epidemiologically qualified field study. Most of the studies are hospital based or clinical studies which did not include a systematical scanning and did not aim to collect any epidemiological data and transfer information to health authorities. The generalizability of these studies to our community is far from being valid and reliable. On the other hand, a profile which will be created by reviewing the findings of these studies performed in various regions of Turkey will have a contribution to knowing the "unique to us" features of bipolar disorder and determining cultural risk factors. All this information can constitute a basis for formation and development of public mental health services related with bipolar disorder. In Turkey, the need for epidemiologically significant, polycentric, public sampled studies with broad participation is indispensable. Although our psychiatric epidemiology and clinical studies include necessary scientific basis, they are not powerful enough to evaluate the authentic and progressional relations such as rapid urbanization and immigration. The aim of this review is to evaluate and discuss prominent epidemiological findings, deficiencies and possibile future activities related with studies conducted in Turkey about bipolar disorder. Key words: Bipolar disorder, epidemiology, Turkey. Turkiye'de bipolar bozukluk ile ilgili yapilmis calismalarin incelenmesinde epidemiyolojik anlamda nitelikli alan calismasina rastlanmamistir. Calismalarin cogu, hastane basvurusu kaynakli ve klinik calismalardir, sistematik bir tarama icermemekte, epidemiyolojik veri toplama ya da saglik hizmetlerine bilgi aktarma amacli degildir. Bu calismalarin bulgularinin toplumumuza genellenebilirligi gecerli ve guvenilir olmaktan uzaktir. Bununla birlikte, ulkemizin degisik bolgelerinde yapilmis calismalarin bulgularinin gozden gecirilerek olusturulacak bir profilin hastaligin bize ozgu ozelliklerinin taninmasina ve risk etkenlerinin saptanmasina katkisi olacaktir. Tum bu bilgiler bipolar bozukluk ile ilgili olarak, toplum ruh sagligi hizmetlerinin olusturulup gelistirilmesine temel olusturabilir. Ulkemizde epidemiyolojik anlamliligi olan, cok merkezli, toplum orneklemli ve genis katilimli calismalara gereksinimi vardir. Psikiyatrik epidemiyoloji ve klinik arastirmalarimiz gerekli bilimsel bazi bulundurmakla birlikte, hizli kentlesme ve goc gibi toplumsal, ozgun ve gelisimsel i