[ABSTRACT] There are epidemiological problems in the study of mania because for many years its study was subsumed in the study of manic-depressive, affective or depressive disease in general. The epidemiology of manic illness in the elderly remains unclear, with some studies suggesting that the manic phase of bipolar affective disorder is uncommon in this age group and others that rates are the same or indeed higher. Although it is likely this disparity of views results from differences in diagn