BACKGROUND:Bipolar mood disorders, after starting at adulthood, may remain active throughout life, but bipolar disorders may only be revealed in later life. Indeed, Yet few data on bipolar disorders in the elderly have been reported in the litterature. The influence of normal aging on the outcome of the disease as well as the specific prognosis of bipolar disorders in the elderly has occasionally been studied. Eventually Finally, and contrasting with adults, few studies comparing the various subtypes of mood disorders were have been performed in the elderly. OBJECTIVES:We therefore developed a study in patients aged 65 or above, in order to evaluate the course (recurrences) of bipolar disorders, compared to recurring depressions and single depressions, and to determine the influence of recurrences on the outcome of bipolar disorders. METHOD:Patients aged over 65 years were inpatients admitted to the department of psychiatry in 2000 for one of the three previously mentioned diagnoses according to DSM IV. Retrospective data were collected from medical reports. Prospectively, data were collected from the general practitioner of each patient (relying on telephone calls), before statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS:Our study demonstrates a more severe outcome for bipolar disorders compared to recurring depressions and single depressions. Patients with bipolar disorders have a higher prevalence of psychiatric recurrences. Furthermore, the greater the number of previous relapses (or the longer the duration and intensity of the disease), the higher the risk of future new future recurrences both in bipolar disorders and recurring depressions. An age of onset of bipolar disorders before 60 years and more than 5 in-hospital admissions increase the risk of recurrences. CONCLUSION:We originally compare the outcome of bipolar disorders in the elderly, to recurring depressions and single depressions. We confirm the fatal outcome of recurrences in bipolar disorders in old age. Bipolar disorders in the elderly should be considered as a real public health care problem: strategies to minimize the number of episodes experienced by patients with bipolar illness must be pursued aggressively throughout life.