Discriminating Between Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder

Paul A Vöhringer; Roy H Perlis

doi:10.1016/j.psc.2015.10.001

Discriminating Between Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2016 Mar;39(1):1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2015.10.001.

Authors

Paul A Vöhringer¹, Roy H Perlis²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, 800 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Chile, Av. Independencia 1027, Santiago 8071146, Chile.
² Department of Psychiatry, Center for Experimental Drugs and Diagnostics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: rperlis@mgh.harvard.edu.

PMID: 26876315
DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2015.10.001

Abstract

Rates of misdiagnosis between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder have been reported to be substantial, and the consequence of such misdiagnosis is likely to be a delay in achieving effective control of symptoms, in some cases spanning many years. Particularly in the midst of a depressive episode, or early in the illness course, it may be challenging to distinguish the 2 mood disorders purely on the basis of cross-sectional features. To date, no useful biological markers have been reliably shown to distinguish between bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Diagnosis; Irritability; Major depressive disorder; Misdiagnosis; Nosology.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bipolar Disorder / diagnosis*
Bipolar Disorder / drug therapy
Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnosis*
Depressive Disorder, Major / drug therapy
Diagnosis, Differential*
Humans