Is bipolar II disorder misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder in children?

Objectives: imate the lifetime prevalence of bipolar II disorder in children and adolescents presenting with DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD). s: one consecutive subjects aged ≤ 18 years attending the outpatient services of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric (CAP) services of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India with a diagnosis of MDD were evaluated using the Missouri Assessment of Genetics Interview for children (MAGIC). Two psychiatrists, one of whom was a child psychiatrist diagnosed hypomania by consensus. s: children had a past episode of hypomania (20%), which was hitherto undiagnosed clinically. tions: ruited subjects from a psychiatric hospital, thus limiting the generalizability of the finding. Sample size was relatively small and assessments were cross-sectional. sions: udy shows that bipolar II disorder is often misdiagnosed as MDD in children. The study also highlights that the chance of diagnosing bipolarity is enhanced by using semi-structured interview in routine clinical practice.