Bipolar Affective Disorder and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Letter to the Editor

Sir: The genetic etiology of bipolar affective disorder is well established. Recent genetic linkage studies have implicated several bipolar susceptibility loci, but the results remain inconclusive. One of the strategies used to identify genes of interest is to look for the cosegregation of certain diseases with affective disorder. We report a case of bipolar disorder associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (also known as cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis), a rare respiratory disorder with a prevalence of 5 to 10 per 100,000 in the general population. Genetic factors are considered important in its etiology, the strongest evidence being provided by familial cases. A previous association has been reported.