Clinical differences between bipolar and unipolar depression.

Forty, Liz; Smith, Daniel; Jones, Lisa; Jones, Ian; Caesar, Sian; Cooper, Carly; Fraser, Christine; Gordon-Smith, Katherine et al. · Br J Psychiatry · 2008

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

It is commonly -- but wrongly -- assumed that there are no important differences between the clinical presentations of major depressive disorder and bipolar depression. Here we compare clinical course variables and depressive symptom profiles in a large sample of individuals with major depressive disorder (n=593) and bipolar disorder (n=443). Clinical characteristics associated with a bipolar course included the presence of psychosis, diurnal mood variation and hypersomnia during depressive episodes, and a greater number of shorter depressive episodes. Such features should alert a clinician to a possible bipolar course. This is important because optimal management is not the same for bipolar and unipolar depression.

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