Over 25% of Bipolar Disorder Misdiagnosed

Bipolar disorder, frequently called manic-depression, is a mental illness that affects almost 6 million adults in the United States – up to 2.6% of the adult population. It strikes men and women equally, although it may be that men develop it earlier than women.

This serious mental illness begins most often in the late teen or early adult years, but it can begin earlier or later. In fact, someone may have bipolar disorder for quite a while before it’s diagnosed because some symptoms can be mistaken for depression, for example.

Although bipolar disorder is serious, it can be managed with the right treatment – usually a combination of psychotherapy and medications. The problem is that it needs to be diagnosed so it can be treated. And, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of Royal College of Psychiatrists in Liverpool, England, found that more than 25% of the patients with bipolar disorder had initially had their condition misdiagnosed as depression.

However, keep in mind that the press releases that issued this information did not disclose how large the study was, which means that we don’t know how accurate this study may be.

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