Although there has been increasing attention paid to pediatric bipolar disorder over the past decade, little is known about treatment utilization patterns and costs in this growing population. In this sample the mean one-year total health costs among children were found to be remarkably similar to published cost estimates for adults with bipolar disorder.(19–25, 33) Outpatient costs made up 38% of total costs, inpatient costs 35%, and medication costs 28%, which are similar to estimates in adults.(20) However, mental health related spending represented 71% of total spending in this sample. This is in contrast to estimates in adult samples (21) that have found spending on mental health to represent only 22% of health care spending.
