Criteria for Bipolar 1 Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a heterogeneous mental illness. This means it can present itself in many different ways. The two most recognized forms are mania (elevated mood and activity) and depression (decreased energy and mood). Individuals who suffer from bipolar disorder will experience significant psychological swings in both directions. Diagnosis is characterized into four distinct categories: bipolar 1, bipolar 2, cyclothymia and bipolar NOS (not otherwise specified). The following represents the established criteria for diagnosing bipolar 1 disorder.

Primary Source

• The criteria most often used for the diagnosis of bipolar 1 disorder comes from the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," 4th Edition (DSM-IV-TR), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

Secondary Source

• The secondary source used for diagnosing bipolar 1 disorder is the "International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems" (ICD-10) and is published by the World Health Organization.

Criteria

• According to the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV-TR), a patient must experience at least one manic or depressive episode before he can be diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder.

Considerations

• While the APA reports that most bipolar 1 patients meet the criteria for diagnosis after experiencing a depressive episode, the first bipolar experience does not always have to be depressive. Though not common, diagnosis of bipolar 1 can be made upon a single manic, hypomanic or mixed episode as well.

Methods

• While using the established APA criteria, the diagnosis of bipolar 1 disorder also depends upon an assessment of the individual that specifically evaluates the presence of particular bipolar signs or symptoms and the duration of each as they occur.