Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents

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Just for a moment, imagine being a child who is unable to have a stable youth because of recurrent episodes of major depression with manic symptoms, intermingled with phases of normal behavior and hypomanic periods. Bipolar disorder – also called manic-depressive disorder – is a disorder that entails severe mood swings; fluctuating from the most horrible depressions to the most euphoric and energetic phases (Birmaher, 2013). The DSM-IV TR portrays Bipolar I Disorder as an illness during which a patient is affected by mood changes that last from weeks to months. This means, that the patient goes through periods of depression, followed by a normal state for a short period of time before the onset of a manic episode. As stated by the DSM-IV TR, Bipolar I disorder is characterized by the occurrence of at least one manic episode, one mixed episode and one period of major depression. There are also various subtypes to Bipolar I disorder, such as Bipolar II disorder – which is characterized by the occurrence of at least one depressive and one manic episode that occur in a form noticable to others but causing less impairment, and cyclothymic disorder – which involves fluctuating mood disturbance including less severe periods of depression and mania that last for short periods over an interval of at least two years (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). According to many studies, the amount of children and adolescents who are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder increased rapidly over the last few years. According to the DSM-IV TR, the prevalence of the disorder amongst children and adolescents is around 1%. However, a team of academics described there is a forty-fold increase of the amount children or adolescents that were being diagnosed... ... middle of paper ... ...act-sheet/index.shtml Parens, E., & Johnston, J. (2010). Controversies concerning the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder in children. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 4(9). Bretka, B.S. (2013). A Guide to DSM-5: Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). Medscape Psychiatry. Retrieved from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/803884_6 Dusetzina, S. B., Farley, J. F., Weinberger, M., Gaynes, B. N., Sleath, B., & Hansen, R. A. (2012). Treatment Use and Costs Among Privately Insured Youths With Diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder. Psychiatric Services, 63(10), 1019-1025. Stokowski, L. A. (2009). Bipolar disorder and adhd in children: Confusion and comorbidity. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711223_4 Patel, N. C., & Sallee, F. R. (2005). What’s the best treatment for comorbid ADHD/bipolar mania?. Curr Psychiatry, 4, 27-37.

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