How marital status plays a role in diagnosing bipolar disorder in patients originally diagnosed with depression
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Abstract
Bipolar disorder (BD), or manic depression, is a chronic illness marked by intense mood swings, from severe depression to euphoria, affecting mood, energy, and activity. BD patients often present with depression and are thus initially diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Misdiagnosis of MDD in BD patients leads to more depressive episodes, psychotic symptoms, and hospitalizations. The delay from MDD to BD diagnosis can average nearly nine years, with a range of one to 45 years. Approximately 70% of BD patients continue to be misdiagnosed with MDD. This study aims to determine if marital status influences this delay. Method: the study evaluated a total of 3,257 individuals greater than 18 years of age who were initially diagnosed with MDD, and then later correctly diagnosed with BD. Results: Married individuals initially diagnosed with MDD had a significantly longer delay in months to correct BD diagnosis compared to single individuals. Further analysis revealed that married females had a significant increase in the time to receive a correct BD diagnosis compared to married males. Conclusion: The present study's findings indicated that single patients misdiagnosed with MDD experience a shorter delay than married patients before receiving a correct BD diagnosis. While single patients have an advantage overall, married males experience a shorter delay than married females before receiving a correct BD diagnosis. To our knowledge, these are new findings and should be researched further to see if they could be of assistance in reducing or eliminating the delay to a correct diagnosis of BD.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Review of literature -- Methodology -- Results -- Discussion