Lithium linked to lower dementia risk in bipolar disorder
Lithium was linked to lower five-year dementia risk than valproate, with a hazard ratio of 0.815, comparing the groups’ risk over time.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 82,172 patients newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, 5 years, against valproate (Dose-response)
- What changed:
- Dementia risk was lower with lithium than with valproate (HR 0.815, 95% CI 0.717-0.926)
- The catch:
- The abstract gives no detailed doses for assessing dose-related differences
- In the record:
- The 33rd paper on lithium with results in people; 101 on record in all.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Adults aged 18–60 newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder were studied in a retrospective observational cohort comparing people starting lithium with those starting valproate, both mood-stabilizing medicines. Researchers matched 82,172 people in two equal-sized groups based on their baseline characteristics, including other health conditions and kidney function. Their average age was 37.4 years, and 54.4% were female. None had dementia when they entered the study.
Over five years, starting lithium was associated with a lower risk of dementia than starting valproate. The association also held in an analysis extending follow-up to 10 years.
Why it matters
Bipolar disorder is associated with elevated dementia risk. This comparison addresses whether the choice of mood-stabilizing medicine is linked to dementia developing earlier in life.
Caveats
People prescribed lithium may have differed from those prescribed valproate in ways the matching did not capture. The findings concern adults aged 18–60 without existing dementia; the abstract gives no detailed doses for assessing dose-related differences.
The paper
China Medical University
Journal of Affective Disorders, Jul 13, 2026
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