Antidepressant-Induced Mania Signals Bipolar Disorder: JAD
A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders indicates that those who have mania as the result of receiving antidepressants are likely to actually have bipolar disorder. Currently, mania that is caused by medication is not concerned a mania for the purposes of diagnosing bipolar disorder. As a result, unless that person has a subsequent manic or hypomanic episode, that person will continue be be diagnosed as having major depressive disorder rather than bipolar disorder. However, by examining the characteristics of depressive episodes in those who have had manic reactions to antidepressants, they determined that their depressive episodes resemble those who have bipolar disorder, not unipolar depression. As a result, the authors argue that the diagnosis of people who have had antidepressant-induced mania should be changed to be on the bipolar spectrum, not remain major depressive disorder until another episode occurs: “treatment-induced mania is a clinical phenomenon that belongs within the bipolar spectrum rather than a coincidental treatment complication.”
Commentary
Source: Tom Varco - CC BY-SA 3.0
If someone who has a antidepressant-induced mania continues to be diagnosed as having major depressive disorder when they are really bipolar, two bad results can occur. First, they may not receive proper treatment for their bipolar disorder such as mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, which could lead to another damaging and potentially dangerous episode. Second, they may later be put on yet another antidepressant, since that is the standard treatment for unipolar depression, which could lead to yet another manic episode. In either case, getting the proper diagnosis is especially important.
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