Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the sample of patients having discontinued lithium treatment at least once between the years of 1997-2013
Gender, n (%) | |
 Female | 238 (60.5) |
 Male | 185 (39.5) |
Type of disorder, n (%) | |
 BPAD 1/SZD | 199 (42.5) |
 BPAD 2/Other | 269 (57.5) |
Total number of episodes with lithium discontinuation, n (%) | 589 |
 Patients with one episode only | 378 (80.8) |
 Patients with more than one episode | 90 (19.2) |
Total number of episodes with known reason for discontinuation, n (%) | 561 |
 Episodes with one reason only | 355 (63.3) |
 Episodes with more than one reason | 206 (35.7) |
Total number of reasons for lithium discontinuation, n (%) | 922 |
Patients where first episode of discontinuation where identified, n (%) | 371 (79.3) |
Lead-time to first lithium discontinuation, years | |
 Mean (SD) | 3.6 (6.1) |
 Median (min-max) | 1.1 (0.02-39.9) |