Objective: Withdrawal of bipolar mood disorder (BP-I) patients from prolonged, stable lithium maintenance has a high risk of early recurrence, particularly of mania. We thus compared risks of stopping lithium rapidly vs gradually.
Design: Outpatients undergoing clinically determined discontinuation of lithium treatment at different rates were followed up prospectively to 5 years. Risks and timing of new episodes were analyzed.
Patients: Subjects (N = 64) with a DSM-III-R BP disorder, previously stable on lithium monotherapy for 18 to 120 months (mean, 3.6 years) were followed up clinically after discontinuing lithium (elected in prolonged wellbeing in 67%). None was unavailable for follow-up, and subtyping (BP-I or BP-II) remained stable.
Results: Within 5 years, 75% had a recurrent episode; BP-I patients were 1.5-times less likely than BP-II to remain in remission. Polarity of first-recurrent and onset episodes was 80.8% concordant. Overall risk of a new episode of mania was significantly greater after rapid (< 2) than gradual (2 to 4 weeks discontinuation (5-year hazard ratio = 2.8); the difference in risk of depression was even greater hazard ratio = 5.4). Recurrence rate was more elevated within months of rapid discontinuation (12-month hazard ratio = 5.4). Recurrence rate was more elevated within months of rapid discontinuation (12-month hazard ratio = 4.3) than at later times (2 to 5 years), when courses of "survival" over time were nearly parallel in both discontinuation groups.
Conclusions: Risk of early recurrence of BP disorder following discontinuation of lithium maintenance is elevated, but may be both predictable (timing and polarity) and modifiable by gradual discontinuation.