Bipolar Affective Disorder is frequently under-diagnosed and misdiagnosed, particularly as unipolar depression. This has serious implications on treatment and outcome of the condition. A community mental health team (CMHT) in Bedford, United Kingdom, has therefore reassessed patients to examine whether it is possible to increase the sensitivity of diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder; to identify more cases and to identify them earlier, in order to be able to offer adequate treatment as early as possible.Standards were decided within the team for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on the DSM4 criteria for the diagnosis of Bipolar I and Bipolar II illness. Patients were reassessed and patient data from 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011, as well as from 2013, with respect to psychiatric diagnoses. The results were audited and analysed in every year in question. The proportions of total bipolar, bipolar I affective disorder and bipolar II affective disorder diagnoses, as well as the proportions of recurrent depressive disorder and other unipolar depression diagnoses were determined.There was a steady increase in the proportions of both bipolar I and bipolar II diagnoses -from 10.5

作者：Eva Nora, Bongards；Rashid, Zaman；Mark, Agius

来源：Psychiatria Danubina 2013 年 25 Suppl 2卷