Self-harm, Unintentional Injury, and Suicide in Bipolar Disorder During Maintenance Mood Stabilizer Treatment: A UK…
Given that self-harm rates were lowest on lithium in this study, is lithium an option for my maintenance treatment?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Observational study; despite propensity-score adjustment, people prescribed lithium may differ from those prescribed the comparison drugs.
Among 6,671 UK patients on maintenance treatment for bipolar disorder, self-harm rates were roughly 40-50% higher in those taking valproate, olanzapine, or quetiapine than in those taking lithium.
Worth asking
Given that self-harm rates were lowest on lithium in this study, is lithium an option for my maintenance treatment?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Treatment of manic episodes of bipolar disorder
- Maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder
Source
Self-harm, Unintentional Injury, and Suicide in Bipolar Disorder During Maintenance Mood Stabilizer Treatment: A UK Population-Based Electronic Health Records Study — Hayes JF, et al. (2016)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0432
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0432
How this was scored
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 6,671
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 73 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Observational study; despite propensity-score adjustment, people prescribed lithium may differ from those prescribed the comparison drugs. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Self-harm, Unintentional Injury, and Suicide in Bipolar Disorder During Maintenance Mood Stabilizer Treatment: A UK Population-Based Electronic Health Records Study — Hayes JF, et al. (2016). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0432. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Cohort study. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is lithium (Lithobid, Eskalith), lithobid, eskalith FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Treatment of manic episodes of bipolar disorder, Maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.