Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov;21(7):642-649.
doi: 10.1111/bdi.12795. Epub 2019 May 30.

The Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD) project: Understanding older-age bipolar disorder by combining multiple datasets

Martha Sajatovic  1 , Lisa T Eyler  2   3 , Soham Rej  4 , Osvaldo P Almeida  5 , Hilary P Blumberg  6 , Brent P Forester  7   8 , Orestes V Forlenza  9 , Ariel Gildengers  10 , Benoit H Mulsant  11 , Sergio Strejilevich  12 , Shangying Tsai  13 , Eduard Vieta  14 , Robert C Young  15 , Annemiek Dols  16
Affiliations

The Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD) project: Understanding older-age bipolar disorder by combining multiple datasets

Martha Sajatovic et al. Bipolar Disord. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: There is a dearth of research about the aging process among individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). One potential strategy to overcome the challenge of interpreting findings from existing limited older-age bipolar disorder (OABD) research studies is to pool or integrate data, taking advantage of potential overlap or similarities in assessment methods and harmonizing or cross-walking measurements where different measurement tools are used to evaluate overlapping construct domains. This report describes the methods and initial start-up activities of a first-ever initiative to create an integrated OABD-focused database, the Global Aging & Geriatric Experiments in Bipolar Disorder Database (GAGE-BD) project.

Methods: Building on preliminary work conducted by members of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders OABD taskforce, the GAGE-BD project will be operationalized in four stages intended to ready the dataset for hypothesis-driven analyses, establish a consortium of investigators to guide exploration, and set the stage for prospective investigation using a common dataset that will facilitate a high degree of generalizability.

Results: Initial efforts in GAGE-BD have brought together 14 international investigators representing a broad geographic distribution and data on over 1,000 OABD. Start-up efforts include communication and guidance on meeting regulatory requirements, establishing a Steering Committee to guide an incremental analysis strategy, and learning from existing multisite data collaborations and other support resources.

Discussion: The GAGE-BD project aims to advance understanding of associations between age, BD symptoms, medical burden, cognition and functioning across the life span and set the stage for future prospective research that can advance the understanding of OABD.

Keywords: bipolar disorder; elderly; geriatric; manic-depressive disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Kessing LV, Andersen PK. Evidence for clinical progression of unipolar and bipolar disorders. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2017;135:51-64.
    1. Nivoli A, Murru A, Pacchiarotti I, et al. Bipolar disorder in the elderly: a cohort study comparing older and younger patients. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2014;130:364-373.
    1. Kessing LV. Diagnostic subtypes of bipolar disorder in older versus younger adults. Bipolar Disord. 2006;8:56-64.
    1. Sajatovic M, Strejilevich SA, Gildengers AG, et al. A report on older-age bipolar disorder from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force. Bipolar Disord. 2015;17:689-704.
    1. Sit D. Women and bipolar disorder across the life span. J Am Med Womens Assoc. 1972;2004(59):91-100.

Publication types