Real-world Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments for the Prevention of Rehospitalization in a Finnish Nationwide…
Would lithium be a reasonable first choice to help me stay out of the hospital long term?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Government-funded, but several authors disclosed consulting or research ties to pharmaceutical companies; observational within-individual design.
Among 18,018 Finnish patients with bipolar disorder followed for about seven years, periods on lithium carried the lowest risk of psychiatric rehospitalization of any oral treatment (about 33% lower than periods off the drug).
Worth asking
Would lithium be a reasonable first choice to help me stay out of the hospital long term?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Treatment of manic episodes of bipolar disorder
- Maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder
Source
Real-world Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments for the Prevention of Rehospitalization in a Finnish Nationwide Cohort of Patients With Bipolar Disorder — Lähteenvuo M, et al. (2018)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4711
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4711
How this was scored
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 18,018
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 79 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Government-funded, but several authors disclosed consulting or research ties to pharmaceutical companies; observational within-individual design. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Real-world Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments for the Prevention of Rehospitalization in a Finnish Nationwide Cohort of Patients With Bipolar Disorder — Lähteenvuo M, et al. (2018). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4711. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Cohort study. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is lithium (Lithobid, Eskalith), lithobid, eskalith FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Treatment of manic episodes of bipolar disorder, Maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.