The Association Between The Clinial Features And The Course Of The Ilness In Patients With Bipolar Disorder

In this study, onset of the signs, diagnostic problems and first diagnosis of the bipolar type I patients followed up in psychiatry department of Selcuk University Meram Medical School Hospital were investigated. 179 patients who applied to psychiatry outpatient clinic of Selcuk University Meram Medical School Hospital, consecutively and diagnosed as Bipolar Type I according to the DSM IV Criteria were enrolled. The relation between the first diagnosis of the patients and their clinical course were investigated. 121 (67.6%) of 179 Bipolar I patients had different diagnosis at the beginning (34.1% depression, 24% schizophrenia and 9.5% other psychiatric disorders), BP-I diagnosis was established and mood stabilizer were begun with approximately 6.3 ± 7.4 years delay. Bipolar I patients can be wrongly diagnosed due to the different clinical symptoms and beginning of the appropriate treatments can be delayed. Delayed diagnosis can negatively affect the clinical course.