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Children and Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder or Manic-depressive illness causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and functioning. Overly energized, disruptive, and reckless periods alternate with periods of sadness, withdrawal, hopelessness, and other depressive symptoms. Unlike normal mood states of happiness and sadness, symptoms of manic-depressive illness can interfere with school performance, family relationships, peer interactions, and other everyday activities. Although manic-depressive illness typically emerges in late adolescence or early adulthood, there is increasing evidence that the disorder also can begin in childhood. According to one study, one percent of adolescents ages 14-18 were found to have met criteria for manic-depressive illness or cyclothymia, a milder form of the illness, in their lifetime.

NIMH research efforts are attempting to clarify the diagnosis, course, and treatment of manic-depressive illness in youth. Evidence suggests that manic-depressive illness beginning in childhood or early adolescence may be a different, possibly more severe form of the disorder than older adolescent and adult-onset manic-depressive illness. When the illness begins before or soon after puberty, it is often characterized by a continuous, rapid-cycling, and mixed symptom state that may co-occur with ADHD or other behavioral disorders, or may have features of these disorders as initial symptoms. In contrast, later onset manic-depressive illness appears to begin suddenly, often with a manic episode, and to have a more episodic pattern with relatively stable periods between episodes.

Various treatments known to be effective in adults with manic-depressive illness also may help relieve the symptoms in young people. The essential treatment for this disorder is the use of appropriate doses of mood stabilizing medications. The most typical is lithium, known to be very effective in adults for controlling mania and preventing recurrences of manic and depressive episodes. Research on the effectiveness of this and other medications in children and adolescents with manic-depressive illness is ongoing. In addition, studies are investigating various forms of psychotherapy to complement medication treatment for this illness in young people.

Information provided by the National Institute of Mental Health

Children and Mental Health