Q. Do you have any statistics on average age of onset of diagnosable bipolar symptoms? I, and some of my female friends, showed no diagnosable symptoms until we were about 40. Yet most of the bipolar men I know were diagnosed in their teens or twenties. Is it possible that bipolar women, on average, are diagnosed later than bipolar men?

  A. . If the symptoms are present, the diagnosis is likely correct. Most psychiatric illnesses are found earlier in life, but not always. He may be an exception. Age of diagnosis has been looked at, but in this case, really does not matter. Getting adequate treatment and getting better is what matters.