It takes an average of six years from the first appearance of bipolar symptoms to people with the consideration being diagnosed and having their term managed . The gap may have a serious effect on long - terminal figure result , warned the author of a meta - subject field in theCanadian Journal of Psychiatry .
Professor Matthew Largeof the University of New South Wales is senior author of a review of 27 studies , covering a total of 9,415 affected role . These studies attempted to shew when hoi polloi who had been diagnosed with bipolar upset had first shown symptoms that die unnamed . solution change but averaged 5.8 years .
" This is a lose opportunity because the severity and frequency of episodes can be reduced with medicament and other intervention , " big say in astatement . " While some patients , particularly those who present with psychosis , probably do meet timely handling , the diagnosis of the former form of bipolar disorder can be difficult . "
The early subject area included were published in 1979 , but most were from the last decade and conducted in Europe or the US , although there were two from Turkey and one from Thailand . Large told IFLScience the work used a number of methods to judge when symptom pop . “ The most dominant [ method acting ] is to ask the patients , although that is open to recall bias . " Other methods included documentary evidence , for example record of patient presenting to infirmary with psychosis that was incorrectly diagnosed at the time . Some teams interview friends and families of those affected .
regrettably , we know surprisingly small about the consequences of holdup . “ Bipolar is a very undeveloped field compared to schizophrenia , where we know there are modest benefits from earlier intervention , ” Large told IFLScience . At the second , intervention option are limited to mood stabilizer , which have serious side - effect for most of those who take them .
The discipline changed Large ’s horizon on bipolar diagnosis . “ I thought the gap would be two or three geezerhood , ” he said . The long timeline provides support for thetheorypropounded by some clinicians that bipolar disorder is greatly underdiagnosed , with many people presenting with bipolar symptoms being classified as schizophrenic or experiencing major depressive upset rather .
“ When we babble out to patient , they often say they have found ways of superintend mood , in much the same way alky do , ” heavy said . Earlier diagnosing might make produce these techniques easier . " We know stress precipitate bipolar incident , and while we ca n’t prevent stress , we be intimate use and talking to others can help citizenry deal with it . " A diagnosing could also bea warningto avoid drug , butbiological testsand specific treatments targeting genetic markers are a long direction off .
In thestatement , magnanimous attributed the delay to the fact that reliable diagnosing " bank on a detailed life account and corroborative selective information from carers and kinfolk , information that takes time and care to pucker . ”Online testsare usable for those with concerns , and while they are not definitive , can be utilitarian guides as to whether to seek professional assessment .
