Objective-An important question in pediatric bipolar research is whether marked nonepisodic irritability is a manifestation of bipolar disorder in youth. This study tests the hypothesis that youth with severe mood dysregulation (SMD), a category created for the purpose of studying children presenting with severe nonepisodic irritability, will be significantly less likely to develop (hypo-)manic or mixed episodes over time than will youth with bipolar disorder (BD). Method-Patients with SMD (N = 84) and narrowly defined BD (N = 93) at baseline were followed up in 6-monthly intervals using the relevant K-SADS modules to ascertain (hypo-)manic or mixed episodes.Results-Only one of 84 SMD subjects (1/84 [1.2%]; 95% confidence interval CI = 0.0003 to 0.064) experienced a (hypo-)manic or mixed episode during the study (median follow-up = 28.7 months). The frequency of such episodes was more than 50 times higher in those with narrowly defined BD (58/93 [62.4%]; 95% CI 0.52 to 0.72).Conclusions-These data suggest that, over an approximately 2-year follow-up period, youth with SMD are unlikely to develop (hypo-)manic or mixed episodes. Keywords bipolar disorder; pediatric; severe mood dysregulation; irritability; ADHD In American psychiatric clinics and inpatient settings, dramatic increases in the rates of diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) have been documented over the past decade, 1,2 with a concomitant increase in prescription rates for antipsychotic medication. 3 This rapid increase in the diagnosis of pediatric BD has coincided with the contention that the clinical presentation of BD differs between children and adults. 4,5 The debate regarding the pediatric presentation of BD is complex. One important aspect of it has been the suggestion that marked irritability, even when it does not constitute an episodic change from baseline, is a manifestation of BD in youth. 4,6,7 To provide a framework for research on whether irritable children without distinct manic episodes have a developmental presentation of BD, we operationalized 8 a clinical syndrome, severe mood dysregulation (SMD), designed to capture chronically irritable children whose diagnostic status is in doubt. This paper uses a longitudinal sample to investigate the extent to which subjects with SMD develop episodes of (hypo-)mania, compared to youth with narrowly defined BD.The criteria for SMD require a persistent, nonepisodic clinical presentation of negatively valenced mood with frequent and impairing anger outbursts, combined with at least three of the "B" criteria of mania (pressured speech, agitation, insomnia, and flight of ideas/racing thoughts) and one (distractibility) that is also common to ADHD. 8 A community-based follow-up study suggests that SMD is common, with a lifetime prevalence of 3.3% in youth 9 to 19 years of age. 9 Furthermore, in that sample SMD predicted depressive disorder at 7-year follow-up in youths who were 9 to 19 years old at baseline. 9 Consistent with this finding, another community-based study of nonepisod...

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These preliminary data indicate that, among children being treated for BPD in the community, those with discrete episodes of mania may be more likely to have a lifetime history of psychosis and a parental history of BPD. The latter hypothesis should be tested in a sample where relatives are interviewed directly.

We assessed the use of mood stabilizers, stimulants, antipsychotic medication, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in children being treated in the community for bipolar disorder (BPD). One hundred eleven patients were screened via parent phone interview for possible inclusion in a phenomenological study of BPD. Data were obtained on the patients' medication trials and side effects. The results of the study indicated that children and adolescents who carry a diagnosis of BPD are treated with a mean of 3.40 +/- 1.48 medications and have had a mean of 6.32 +/- 3.67 trials of psychotropic medication in the past. Ninety-eight percent have had a trial of a mood stabilizer or anticonvulsant, with the most common being valproate (79%), lithium (51%), and gabapentin (29%).