A University of Manchester study which looked at more than thirty years of research into bipolar, found that people with the disorder are 2.63 times more likely to have suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse as children than the general population.

In the study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers identified 19 studies from hundreds published between 1980 and 2014 which gathered data from millions of patient records, interviews and assessments.

By applying rigorous statistical analysis to the data, the researchers compared the likelihood of people with and without bipolar disorder having adverse childhood experiences, such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The findings revealed a strong link between these events and subsequent diagnosis.

Bipolar disorder is characterised by extreme depressive and manic states which impair quality of life and increase suicide risk. An urgent need in this field is better understanding of risk factors that can be used to improve detection and treatment.

Dr Filippo Varese, one of the study authors, said: “Much research into bipolar has focussed on bio-genetics, but following previous work on schizophrenia, we felt that a similar effect could be found in bipolar. The link between experiencing a troubled childhood and subsequently being diagnosed with this serious condition is extremely strong.”