Some Additional Information on the 4,000 Percent Increase in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder
The 4,000 percent increase is from a 2007 study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry entitled "National Trends in the Outpatient Diagnosis and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Youth." The article was published by a research team at Columbia University lead by Dr. Mark Olson. And the relevant text ...
"There has been a recent national increase in the number of office-based visits with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, with an especially impressive increase among visits by younger patients. While the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in adults increased nearly 2-fold during the 10-year study period, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in youth increased approximately 40-fold during this period."
Dr. Rao further noted, "Their findings cover a recent 10-year period between '94 and '03 in outpatient visits for children and adolescents as recorded from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The majority (66.5%) were males - which goes to the point of my book, The Way of Boys, whereby I make the case that boys in the US are disproportionately represented in use of psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications."
So I believe the answer to my question is that this is a sobering statistic. There are considerably more children being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, the authors of the referenced article also note that this does not necessarily mean more kids now have bipolar disorder.
"The impressive increase in the diagnosis of childhood and adolescent bipolar disorder in US office-based practice indicates a shift in clinical diagnostic practices. In broad terms, either bipolar disorder was historically under diagnosed in children and adolescents and that problem has now been rectified, or bipolar disorder is currently being over diagnosed in this age group. Without independent systematic diagnostic assessments, we cannot confidently select between these competing hypotheses."
Thus, Dr. Rao further shares, "In the book, I outline my observations that are contributing to these trends - as well as provide parents with helpful information and straightforward parenting strategies to manage their young boys through the early challenging years of boyhood. My main point is not to rush into diagnoses and medications too early, promote more accurate diagnosing among professionals, help parents know the difference between a real symptom and transient developmental struggle, how to seek better professional help, and know when medications can be helpful (and not to use them exclusively when there are other research-based interventions available)."
~Kimberly
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Population Genetics is rapidly setting the stage for knowing who exactly suffers Bipolar disorder and which exact medication they will need. Children who are sicker will no doubt suffer other disorders with Bipolar Disorder in its forms. Measurement of this subgroup and special genetic science resources devoted to them is effort that will pack the most punch in a group who’s growth may well excede the 4000 percent mark of the whole. It will help the very most of these sicker kids to keep them out of a life of early and repeated admits and jail. A recent concern about use of meds on kids that are designed for adults also impresses. Science may pinpoint meds for individual patients and reduce higher doses of meds, saving start of neuroleptic syndromes that accumulate and damage throughout life. We need to escalate spending on genetic science and much good will follow. Thankfully yours, Gerald McEachin, Hawthorn Center (for children), Northville, Michigan
There is NO genetic evidence that has been replicated or validated to diagnose ANY mental illness. All the genetic evidence is different in every study and many diagnoses overlap in a few sections of the gene. The same is true for brain imaging: all the imaging is only study, no results that are valid and reliable. Believing that this 40x baseline increase in diagnosis of BiP in children ONLY IN THE US is due to underdiagnosis in the past shows much we have been socialized to beleive that this is a clear-cut and aceptable diagnosis by people who know what they are doing. Plus of course, the treatments are not approved for children. Even treatments for adults for Bip have not been studied together, only one drug at a time, except for Zyprexa/Prozac and Zyprexa/Lithium/Depakote. The state of research and diagnosis for BiP is scandalous.
I must agree with Eileen. The state of this research is barbarous. Pseudo-experts like Gerald, above, will try and convince you to allow them to destroy the minds of your children with exorbitantly expensive drugs. Don’t be fooled.
These men and women know next to nothing about what makes the mind work, psychologically, much less physio-chemically.
Now these jokers like these want to “escalate spending on genetic science”!? What, so we can get millions more false positives and destroy how many more childhoods and minds?
The future of this planet is in grave danger from the sorceries of these pathetic, ignorant, mindless drug-peddlers.
If you are fool enough to allow your children to be destroyed by these walking corpses, then you will reap every wicked seed you have sown and destroy a beautiful and innocent life.
Love your children. Get off the internet, throw your computer out the window, and start LOVING YOUR CHILDREN AGAIN.
Shame on this world. May it burn until it repents of its evil.