Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a common, severe, and persistent psychiatric illness affecting 1.3% to 1.7% of the population. Substance use disorders (SUDs) are also common. A community-based study found a lifetime prevalence of 17% for alcohol abuse or dependence and 6% for other substances. BPD and SUDs occur together more frequently than would be expected by chance alone.

This study was conducted to determine the pattern of substance abuse among Iranian bipolar disorder inpatients.

We reviewed the history of patients who admitted with bipolar diagnosis in any phase to determine types of substance usage.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study on existing data, conducted among 322 patients with bipolar disorder attending to Imam-Hossein Hospital. The clinical records of each patient was assessed for any type of substance or alcohol related disorders.

84 patients (26.1%) had substance use disorders. 40.5% were using opioids, 6% mood-elevators, 7.1% alcohol, and 46.4% were using multiple substances. The mean duration of substance abuse was 104 months plus 23 days.

Totally, it may be concluded that substance abuse frequency among patients with bipolar disorder is high and may lead to deteriorated prognosis. Substances can also distort the clinical feature and course of the disorder and may create difficulties in correct diagnosis