ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to discuss common adverse events associated with the treatment of bipolar disorder, including some uncommon but important adverse events that deserve critical clinical consideration. It is not meant to be a compendium of all possible treatment-related adverse events, which are often referred to as side effects. While this chapter provides some discussion of treatment management issues, it should not be taken as a substitute for clinical judgment. Pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder are associated with a large number of potential side effects, but these can be categorized into events with and without major clinical significance. The last section of this chapter will focus on adverse events, such as weight gain, related changes in insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and the metabolic syndrome, that can potentially contribute to the most common causes of medical comorbidity and mortality in treated patients with psychiatric disorders.
