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Internet use by older adults with bipolar disorder: international survey results

Bauer R 1 , Glenn T 2 , Strejilevich S 3 , Conell J 1 , Alda M 4 , Ardau R 5 Show all authors , Baune BT 6 , Berk M 7 , Bersudsky Y 8 , Bilderbeck A 9 , Bocchetta A 10 , Castro AMP 7 , Cheung EYW 11 , Chillotti C 5 , Choppin S 12 , Cuomo A 13 , Del Zompo M 10 , Dias R 14 , Dodd S 7 , Duffy A 15 , Etain B 16 , Fagiolini A 13 , Fernández Hernandez M 17 , Garnham J 4 , Geddes J 9 , Gildebro J 18 , Gitlin MJ 19 , Gonzalez-Pinto A 17 , Goodwin GM 9 , Grof P 20 , Harima H 21 , Hassel S 22 , Henry C 16 , Hidalgo-Mazzei D 23 , Lund AH 18 , Kapur V 24 , Kunigiri G 25 , Lafer B 14 , Larsen ER 26 , Lewitzka U 1 , Licht RW 27 , Misiak B 28 , Piotrowski P 28 , Miranda-Scippa  29 , Monteith S 30 , Munoz R 31 , Nakanotani T 32 , Nielsen RE 27 , O'Donovan C 4 , Okamura Y 21 , Osher Y 8 , Reif A 33 , Ritter P 1 , Rybakowski JK 34 , Sagduyu K 35 , Sawchuk B 15 , Schwartz E 36 , Slaney C 4 , Sulaiman AH 37 , Suominen K 38 , Suwalska A 34 , Tam P 39 , Tatebayashi Y 32 , Tondo L 40 , Veeh J 33 , Vieta E 23 , Vinberg M 41 , Viswanath B 42 , Zetin M 43 , Whybrow PC 19 , Bauer M 44

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
  • 2 ChronoRecord Association, Fullerton, CA, USA
  • 3 Bipolar Disorder Program, Neuroscience Institute, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 4 Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
  • 5 Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
  • 6 Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  • 7 School of Medicine, IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
  • 8 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev; Beer Sheva Mental Health Center, Beer Sheva, Israel
  • 9 Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
  • 10 Section of Neurosciences and Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
  • 11 Department of General Adult Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong, China
  • 12 AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Henri-Mondor, Créteil, France
  • 13 Department of Molecular Medicine and Department of Mental Health (DAI), University of Siena and University of Siena Medical Center (AOUS), Siena, Italy
  • 14 Bipolar Disorder Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 15 Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
  • 16 AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Henri-Mondor, INSERM U955 (IMRB), Université Paris Est, Créteil, France
  • 17 Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Alava, University of the Basque Country, CIBERSAM, Vitoria, Spain
  • 18 Department of Affective Disorders, Q, Mood Disorders Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
  • 19 Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 20 Mood Disorders Center of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
  • 21 Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
  • 22 Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
  • 23 Bipolar Disorders Program, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
  • 24 Department of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS, Bangalore, 560029, India
  • 25 Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, UK
  • 26 Institute of Clinical Research, Research Unit of Psychiatry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
  • 27 Aalborg University Hospital, Psychiatry, Aalborg, Denmark
  • 28 Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
  • 29 Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
  • 30 Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Traverse City Campus, Traverse City, MI, USA
  • 31 Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
  • 32 Affective Disorders Research Project, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
  • 33 Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany
  • 34 Department of Adult Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
  • 35 Department of Psychiatry, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
  • 36 , Croton on Hudson, NY, USA
  • 37 Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 38 City of Helsinki, Department of Social Services and Health Care, Psychiatry, Helsinki, Finland
  • 39 Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • 40 McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
  • 41 Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 42 Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, 560029, India
  • 43 Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
  • 44 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. michael.bauer@uniklinikum-dresden.de
Int J Bipolar Disord, 2018 Sep 04;6(1):20.
PMID: 30178112 DOI: 10.1186/s40345-018-0127-7

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The world population is aging and the number of older adults with bipolar disorder is increasing. Digital technologies are viewed as a framework to improve care of older adults with bipolar disorder. This analysis quantifies Internet use by older adults with bipolar disorder as part of a larger survey project about information seeking.

METHODS: A paper-based survey about information seeking by patients with bipolar disorder was developed and translated into 12 languages. The survey was anonymous and completed between March 2014 and January 2016 by 1222 patients in 17 countries. All patients were diagnosed by a psychiatrist. General estimating equations were used to account for correlated data.

RESULTS: Overall, 47% of older adults (age 60 years or older) used the Internet versus 87% of younger adults (less than 60 years). More education and having symptoms that interfered with regular activities increased the odds of using the Internet, while being age 60 years or older decreased the odds. Data from 187 older adults and 1021 younger adults were included in the analysis excluding missing values.

CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with bipolar disorder use the Internet much less frequently than younger adults. Many older adults do not use the Internet, and technology tools are suitable for some but not all older adults. As more health services are only available online, and more digital tools are developed, there is concern about growing health disparities based on age. Mental health experts should participate in determining the appropriate role for digital tools for older adults with bipolar disorder.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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