ABSTRACT
Acute episodes of depression, mania or hypomania may have severe consequences - medical, social and occupational. Patients with bipolar disorder often develop problems with the legal system, based on spending money they do not have or leaving important bills unpaid. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder, frequently known as manic depressive illness or manic depression, which involves cycles of depression and episodes of irritability or the elation of mania. Clinicians often find it valuable to subdivide the bipolar grouping of patients into specific categories. The rate of bipolar disorder in the general populations of countries around the world is highest in the United States of America (USA), at 4.4%, and lowest in India, at 0.1%. Epidemiological studies suggest that when considering the whole spectrum of bipolar illnesses, as much as 5 % of the general population is afflicted. There is ample information about the utility of assessment tools for screening and monitoring bipolar disorder.
