title: Recognition and diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
abstract: Bipolar disorder is a serious, recurrent, and sometimes chronic psychiatric illness that is far more prevalent than many physicians realize. It often is unrecognized and misdiagnosed, particularly in patients presenting with depression. The consequences of misdiagnosis and mistreatment as unipolar depression may be disastrous. The rate of recognition may be improved by asking patients about bipolar symptoms and by screening for bipolar disorder using the Mood Disorder Questionnaire.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77550-0188, USA.
authors.forename: Robert M A
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hirschfeld
authors.forename: Lana A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Vornik
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology