title: Delusional disorder and mood disorder: can they coexist?
abstract: DSM III-R acknowledges that delusional disorder and mood disturbance can coexist. The aim of the study is to analyze mood disturbances occurring within a delusional disorder. An external validator, as the increased familial risk of psychiatric disorder, is also added to clarify the relationship between the two diagnostic areas. We found a high frequency of mood disturbances in our patients (50.7%). We were able to identify a proportion of delusional patients affected by a recurrent form of mood disturbance (35.2%); in about 42% of these patients the onset of the mood disturbance preceded the onset of the delusional disorder by a considerable interval of time. Our hypothesis is that, in these cases, the observed mood disturbance could represent a codiagnosis of true mood disorder. This hypothesis is partly supported by familial data.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico H.S. Raffaele, Dipartimento di Scienze Neuropsichiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nobile
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellodi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smeraldi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003702:Delusions / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013997:Time Factors