Clinical Presentations of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Nida Limsuwan MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To describe clinical presentations of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents when they were diagnosed.
Material and Method: The present study was a retrospective chart review of patients who were diagnosed bipolar disorder
when they were under 19 years of age. All subjects, both inpatients and outpatients, received psychiatric treatment at
Ramathibodi hospital between January 1998 and May 2008.
Results : Forty-nine subjects aged between eight and 18-years-old (mean 15.3 years) were diagnosed as bipolar disorder.
Thirty-seven percent of patients had cardinal symptoms including elevated mood and/or grandiosity. Being talkative was
the most common associated symptom, found in 47% of patients. Psychotic symptoms were found in 39% of patients.
Moreover, 27% of patients suffered from suicidal idea or had attempted suicide at the time of diagnostic.
Conclusion : Although there is very limited information about clinical presentations of bipolar disorder in children and
adolescents, especially in Thai population, the author found that only 37% of these patients presented with cardinal symptoms
at the time of diagnosis.
Keywords : Bipolar disorder, Clinical presentations, Children, Adolescents
