Children born to mothers who suffer a bout of influenza during pregnancy may be at an increased risk of bipolar disorder, says a new study from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center.
Lead researcher Prof Alan Brown and his team reviewed health records of babies born during the 1960s. The found that adults whose mothers had contracted a case of the flu during pregnancy were as much as four times more likely to develop bipolar disorder later in life.
Currently, about one in 100 people suffer from bipolar disorder, and Brown says that flu should not yet be a high priority concern during pregnancy.
"I wouldn't say high," Brown told the BBC. "The chances are still quite small. I don't think it should raise alarms for mothers."
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