ABSTRACT
The frequency of mania has not changed during the last century even with the development of new diagnostic criteria sets. More specifically, from the mid-1970s to 2000, the rate of mania (variably labeled major affective disorder-bipolar disorder and bipolar I disorder) was consistently identified in US and international studies as ranging from 0.4% to 1.6%. By the late 1990s to the 2000s, the prevalence reported by some researchers for bipolar disorders (I and II and others) was in the 5% to 7% and higher ranges. The purpose of this paper was to review explanations for this change and the potentially negative impacts on the field.
Subject(s)
Bipolar Disorder/epidemiology , Advertising , Bipolar Disorder/diagnosis , Bipolar Disorder/etiology , Depression/drug therapy , Depression/epidemiology , Diagnostic Errors/statistics & numerical data , Drug Industry , Humans , Informed Consent , Prevalence , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Little is known about the prevalence, characteristics, or natural history of somatization disorder in elderly patients. The authors evaluated 353 adult women (from outpatient psychiatric and medical clinics) for somatization disorder. Twenty-four percent of patients were 55 years old or older. The sample of older women did not differ from younger women in the proportion who were positive for somatization disorder, the number of somatic symptoms, or characteristics of the disorder. The authors compare these findings with prior literature and make suggestions for future prospectively designed studies.
