What do patients in a lithium outpatient clinic know about lithium therapy?

OBJECTIVE To determine how much patients know about lithium therapy and to examine factors that might influence this knowledge. SETTING Lithium outpatient clinic. PATIENTS Patients (n = 123) affiliated with a lithium outpatient clinic (mean treatment duration of 12 years). Diagnoses, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition, revised, included bipolar disorder, recurrent unipolar depression and schizoaffective disorder. OUTCOME MEASURES Quantitative assessment of lithium-related knowledge, obtained by responses to a questionnaire adapted from the Lithium Knowledge Test, and factors affecting this knowledge. RESULTS Age was negatively correlated with lithium therapy knowledge scores, whereas duration of treatment, sex, education and diagnosis appeared to be unrelated to knowledge. CONCLUSION Patient education about lithium treatment should be intensified, especially for older patients taking lithium because adverse drug reactions pose a greater risk to the elderly.