The American journal of psychiatry
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The mood spectrum in unipolar and bipolar disorder: arguments for a unitary approach.
This study examined the extent to which individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of recurrent unipolar disorder endorse experiencing manic/hypomanic symptoms over their lifetimes and compared their reports with those of patients with bipolar I disorder. ⋯ The presence of a significant number of manic/hypomanic items in patients with recurrent unipolar depression seems to challenge the traditional unipolar-bipolar dichotomy and bridge the gap between these two categories of mood disorders. The authors argue that their mood spectrum approach is useful in making a more accurate diagnostic evaluation in patients with mood disorders.