Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder

The OABD Task Force was established in 2012, and is currently in what we may term Phase/Wave 3 – where one of the main activities is to pool data between international sites and work on projects together using previously collected archival data from completed studies (e.g. with the recent GAGE-BD grant 2018-2021). Phase 1 was a task force report, while Phase 2 involved different OABD reviews of the literature. Phase 4, it is hoped, would eventually be to create guidelines for prospective data collection for an OABD clinical research consortium that would conduct novel, global investigations. In addition, several related projects can be embedded in the taskforce, with an overall goal to provide relevant and evidence-based guidance on diagnosis and treatment specific for OABD.

Objectives

Create awareness of the clinical phenotype of aging in BD including cognitive and somatic comorbidities.
Provide information to people with OABD, their family members, and their treating clinicians about evidence-based practice for diagnosis, treatment, and improving quality of life outcomes.
Facilitate global collaborative work to understand the aging process for those living with bipolar disorder and the unique needs of people with OABD.
Investigate shared and unique features of OABD and its treatment across different countries.

Leads

Close-up of a smiling woman with wavy light brown hair wearing a red and black floral dress and a silver necklace.

Lisa Eyler,
USA

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Paula Nunez,
Brazil/Canada

Members of Task Force

Hilary Blumberg, USA

PJ Chen, USA

Annemiek Dols, The Netherlands

Brent Forester, USA

Gabriel Fries, USA

Jennifer Gatchel, USA

Ari Gildengers, USA

Lars Vedel Kessing, Denmark

Camila de Carvalho Lima, USA

Laura Montejo, Spain

Fleming Nilsson, Denmark

Andrew Olagunju, Canada

Melis Orhan, The Netherlands

Regan Patrick, USA

Martha Sajatovic, USA

Sigfried Schouws, The Netherlands

Ken Shulman, Canada

Shang-ying Tsai, Taiwan

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Elizabeth Tyler, UK

Eduard Vieta, Spain

Task Force Updates

Publications:

2023

Montejo L, Orhan M, Chen P, Eyler LT, Gildengers A, Martinez-Aran A, Nunes PV, Olagunju AT, Patrick R, Vieta E, Dols A, Jimenez E. Functioning in older adults with bipolar disorder: A report on recommendations by the International Society of bipolar disorder (ISBD) older adults with bipolar disorder (OABD) task force. Bipolar Disord. 2023 Sep;25(6):457-468. Epub 2023 Jul 26. PMID: 37495508.

2021

Olagunju AT, Morgan JA, Aftab A, Gatchel JR, Chen P, Dols A, Sajatovic M, Regenold WT. A review of the evidence base for nutrition and nutritional supplements in older adults with bipolar disorder: A report from the OABD task force. J Frailty Aging. 2021;10(3):241-246. PMID: 34105708; PMCID: PMC8715337.

2016

Dols A, Kessing LV, Strejilevich SA, Rej S, Tsai SY, Gildengers AG, Almeida OP, Shulman KI, Sajatovic M; International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force for Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder. Do current national and international guidelines have specific recommendations for older adults with bipolar disorder? A brief report. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2016 Dec;31(12):1295-1300. Epub 2016 Jul 21. PMID: 27442023.

2015

Sajatovic M, Strejilevich SA, Gildengers AG, Dols A, Al Jurdi RK, Forester BP, Kessing LV, Beyer J, Manes F, Rej S, Rosa AR, Schouws SN, Tsai SY, Young RC, Shulman KI. A report on older-age bipolar disorder from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force. Bipolar Disord. 2015 Nov;17(7):689-704. Epub 2015 Sep 19. PMID: 26384588; PMCID: PMC4623878.