Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37243681›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of bipolar disorders2023

Clinicians' preferences and attitudes towards the use of lithium in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders around the world: a survey from the ISBD Lithium task force.

Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei, Tim Mantingh, Xavier Pérez de Mendiola, Ludovic Samalin, Juan Undurraga, Sergio Strejilevich, Emanuel Severus, Michael Bauer, Ana González-Pinto, Willem A Nolen and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of bipolar disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Time to lithium: A case register study of lithium initiation in bipolar disorder.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026
    Article
  4. Lithium prescribing in the perinatal period: UK primary care cohort study.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Lithium prescription patterns for bipolar disorder at a psychiatric hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2026
    Article
  8. A qualitative exploration of perspectives on taking lithium supplements.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Observational
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Understanding social media discourse on antidepressants: unsupervised and sentiment analysis using X.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Diego Hidalgo-MazzeiBipolar and depressive disorders unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, 170 Villarroel St, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Tim MantinghDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience , King's College London, London, UK.
Xavier Pérez de MendiolaBioaraba, Psychiatry Service, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group on Severe Mental Illness, Araba University Hospital, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Osakidetza, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
Ludovic SamalinDepartment of Psychiatry, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, University of Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Clermont Auvergne INP, Institut Pascal (UMR 6602), Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Juan UndurragaDepartment of Neurology and Psychiatry, Clinica Alemana Universidad Del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.
Sergio StrejilevichÁrea, Asistencia e investigación en trastornos del ánimo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Emanuel SeverusDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Michael BauerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Ana González-PintoBioaraba, Psychiatry Service, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group on Severe Mental Illness, Araba University Hospital, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Osakidetza, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
Willem A NolenDepartment of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Allan H YoungDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience , King's College London, London, UK.
Eduard VietaBipolar and depressive disorders unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, 170 Villarroel St, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. evieta@clinic.cat.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLithium has long been considered the gold-standard pharmacological treatment for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders (BD) which is supported by a wide body of evidence. Prior research has shown a steady decline in lithium prescriptions during the last two decades. We aim to identify potential factors explaining this decline across the world with an anonymous worldwide survey developed by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Task Force "Role of Lithium in Bipolar Disorders" and distributed by diverse academic and professional international channels.

resultsA total of 886 responses were received of which 606 completed the entire questionnaire while 206 completed it partially. Respondents were from 43 different countries comprising all continents. Lithium was the most preferred treatment option for the maintenance of BD patients (59%). The most relevant clinical circumstances in which lithium was the preferred option were in patients with BD I (53%), a family history of response (18%), and a prior response during acute treatment (17%). In contrast, Lithium was not the preferred option in case of patients´ negative beliefs and/or attitudes towards lithium (13%), acute side-effects or tolerability problems (10%) and intoxication risk (8%). Clinicians were less likely to prefer lithium as a first option in BD maintenance phase when practising in developing economy countries [X2 (1, N = 430) = 9465, p = 0.002) ] and private sectors [X2 (1, N = 434) = 8191, p = 0.004)].

conclusionsClinicians' preferences and attitudes towards the use of lithium in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders appear to be affected by both the patients' beliefs and the professional contexts where clinicians provide their services. More research involving patients is needed for identifying their attitudes toward lithium and factors affecting its use, particularly in developing economies.

Indexed as

AttitudesBipolar disordersLithiumMaintenancePreferencesSurveyTreatmentUse

Identifiers

PMID37243681
PMCPMC10220344

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.