According to a new research study, the diagnosed cases of Bipolar Disorder may be higher than the actual patient cases.
Researchers who studied the case files of patient who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder found that less than 50% were diagnosed using the standard protocol. This protocol involves using a comprehensive diagnostic interview known as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).
Current and recent studies have already indicated that the underdiagnosing of bipolar disorder may be a problem in the medical community. This new study is now finding that the overdiagnosis of the disorder may be just as large a problem.
There were 700 patients who participated in the study. During the course of the study, these 700 patients were interviewed using the SCID model and administered a self exam questionairre regarding their previous historry or diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
The results found nearly 150 patients had been previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but only 43% of these patients were diagnosed with the disorder utilizing the SCID. The more patient that were diagnosed with SCID, the more apt the patients families were to have had the disorder as well.
At the yearly meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, the findings were set to be released following the online publication of the study on the Journal of Clinical Psychology website.
The concern surrounding the overdiagnosis of bipolar idsorder surrounds the misuse of bipolar medications.
