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Proposed diagnosis for bipolar disorder divides psychiatrists

By Patricia Wen

 |  Globe Staff  

  May 10, 2012

Child psychiatrists are debating what to do about a glaring 40-fold spike within a decade in the number of youngsters diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A panel of the American Psychiatric Association has concluded that many of these children may have been misdiagnosed, and that they are suffering instead from another mood disorder more likely to evolve into adult depression or anxiety. The panel is calling for a new diagnosis for children who have chronic irritability and recurrent temper outbursts.

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