Bipolar Disorder: Prevalence And Diagnosis

Prevalence is the proportion of cases in the population at a given time

• The prevalence of bipolar disorder among adults was similar for males (2.9%) and females (2.8%), based on the national (US) Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R)
• The prevalence of bipolar disorder among adolescents was higher for females (3.3%) than for males (2.6%)

As with any mental health issue, it’s important to get an evaluation by a Mental Health Professional and get a treatment plan started. Often, a treatment plan may include medications and talk therapy (psychotherapy)

Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder

Diagnosing a bipolar disorder can be difficult due to it requiring a history of symptoms and current symptoms to be recalled accurately. This can be difficult:

• Due to not having an understanding or a great way to explain the symptoms for some
• Or because often people do not remember clearly what their symptoms really were like in full during a manic episode
• Also for the diagnosis a clear manic or hypomania episode needs to be recalled and told to the doctor (or Mental Health Professional); which may not have happened yet

A major reason for the difficult diagnosis of Bipolar is the challenge of differentiating Bipolar Disorder Type I or II from Unipolar Depression – an illness characterized by recurrent depressive episodes – especially in patients who present during a depressive episode and in those with no clear history of Mania or Hypomania

Meaning the first episode could have been a depressive episode. Even the second episode could have been a Depressive episode. In this scenario, a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (Unipolar Depression – not Bipolar) is hard not to make.

Things that can help a clinician become suspicious that maybe Bipolar is on the differential (the list of possibilities), is if there is a strong family history or biological family members having Bipolar-like symptoms or a diagnosis and especially is a Mood Stabilizer helped a family member not have severe symptoms or psychiatric hospitalizations.

There is no medical tests to diagnose Bipolar Disorder

The goal is to one day be able to use a test to understand where symptoms are coming from, the type of bipolar, and what kind of treatment is best recommended for your type of bipolar based on your genetics.

Until then we rely heavily on the symptoms that are told to us or we can see during the appointment. We then recommend the type of medications we have that address those symptoms effectively based on studies done in different populations.

We rely on the history given to us by you or family members or what you know of other biologically related family members that may have had similar symptoms.

We rely on the symptoms you are able to tell us about and also the ones that maybe you are not able to tell us about…that a trusted loved one is able to give us insight into.

It can be hard to remember what was happening during a manic episode

A psychologist, psychiatrist or other trained mental health professional can diagnose the disorder by conducting a face-to-face clinical interview; do not hesitate to seek help!

LAMSA’s note: Thank you Dr Kunam for your collaboration. Dr Kunam is a Bipolar & Women’s Health Advocate (Bipolar Coach)