Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that combines episodes of either mania and depression or hypomania and depression. People with bipolar disorder over periods of time experience individual episodes of mania and depression, and children often experience these episodes at the same time or shift many times in a single day. This disorder that causes such significant changes in mood has been determined to be caused by certain genetics that are inherited and increase a person's risk for the disorder.
Basics
A person with a blood relative who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or displayed the symptoms most often associated with the disorder are at risk for inheriting the disorder. A person's genetics can predispose her to bipolar disorder, increasing her becoming symptomatic at some point in her life.
Facts
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or AACAP, studies focused on twins, adoption and family history have demonstrated that strong role that genetics plays in the development of bipolar disorder. Those with first-degree blood relatives who had bipolar disorder increased their own risk of developing the disorder by four to six fold.
Significance
The ability for bipolar disorder to be inherited from first-degree relatives is significant and important, but the entire role inherited genes play in the development of the disorder is not fully known. The AACAP reports that a group of inherited genes are thought to put certain people at higher risk for developing the disorder, but because not everyone who has blood relatives with the disorder develops it, other factors occurring throughout a person's life influence the inherited bipolar disorder genes.
Factors
The AACAP reports that the experience of stressful life events and trauma can induce the onset of bipolar disorder. Also, sleep deprivation, substance abuse, changes in the seasons and certain medications, such as antidepressants have all been known to trigger the onset of bipolar episodes of mania and depression, according to HelpGuide.org. There are instances when no triggers for the onset of the disorder can be identified, notes the AACAP.
Intervention
There is no known way to prevent the onset of bipolar disorder, but steps can be taken by a person to help ensure that the genes remain dormant. When a person suspects signs of bipolar disorder developing, she should seek the guidance and treatment of a mental health professional immediately. The symptoms will more likely be able to be reversed or reduced in severity the sooner treatment is begun. Also, having positive ways to deal with stress and successfully cope with significant life events can keep the inherited genes from being triggered. Doctors should be informed of a person's risk of developing bipolar disorder any time medications are going to be taken or prescribed, notes the MayoClinic.com. For people who have blood relatives with bipolar disorder, drugs and alcohol should be avoided entirely; the chemical changes that occur when these substances are consumed may turn on the inherited genes of bipolar disorder.
