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Chapter 4 - The Mood Spectrum Concept: Clinical Implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Rebecca Strawbridge  and
Anthony J. Cleare
Edited by
Allan Young ,
Marsal Sanches ,
Jair C. Soares  and
Mario Juruena
Allan Young
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Marsal Sanches
Affiliation:
Baylor College of Medicine, Texas
Jair C. Soares
Affiliation:
McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas
Mario Juruena
Affiliation:
King's College London
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Summary

Many decades have passed since the first conceptualisation of a bipolar continuum. Despite fair agreement that bipolar is not a discrete construct, there remains no universally agreed model as to how best to conceptualise a bipolar spectrum, with outstanding challenges including how and where to demarcate thresholds within it. The lack of universal consensus as to what does, and does not, constitute a bipolar spectrum disorder is a clear clinical challenge. Arguments persist as to the benefits and pitfalls of broadening the current diagnostic criteria, but it remains the case that there is still an underdiagnosis of bipolar disorders and that people meeting various subthreshold criteria share many characteristics with people who have diagnosable bipolar disorders. The evidence base for treating people with cyclothymia, depression with mixed features, and other presentations in the “gap” between formal bipolar and unipolar conditions is scant and calls for future substantial, high-quality trials.

Keywords

bipolar spectrumcyclothymiasoft bipolarsubthreshold maniatemperamentmixed features
Type
Chapter
Information
Clinical Textbook of Mood Disorders , pp. 45 - 53
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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