National Trends in the Outpatient Diagnosis and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Youth

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that there has been a recent increase in the clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder among young people.^1,2 Between 1995 and 2000, the proportion of youth in a large database of privately insured patients who received outpatient treatment for bipolar disorder increased by 67%² while the proportion who received inpatient treatment for bipolar disorder increased by 74%.¹ Recent reports^3-5 further indicate that children and adolescents commonly receive pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder. However, 1 recent study⁶ suggests that children and adolescents diagnosed with bipolar disorder are somewhat less likely than their adult counterparts to be prescribed mood stabilizers. The extent to which there has been a recent national increase in the outpatient diagnosis of childhood bipolar disorder and the pattern of its pharmacological treatment remain unknown.