Though the rationale for the frequent existence of medical comorbidities in patients with bipolar disorder compared to other psychiatric illnesses is not fully understood, associations have been explored and explained by common risk factors, bidirectional causal factors and/or a common biological basis shared with certain medical conditions [4]. Increased comorbidities can be attributed to the genetic basis of the disorder. There seems to be some common genetic risk with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and coronary heart disease [5]. A general model of the genetics has been proposed that emphasizes the shared nature of common alleles in related common conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, diabetes and autoimmune diseases [5]. It has been shown that there is a substantial medical burden associated with bipolar disorder [6]. These patients can greatly benefit from an integrated team of healthcare providers [6].
