Bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BD-NOS) is a diagnosis for

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

(BD) when it does not fall within the other established sub-types. Bipolar disorder NOS is sometimes referred to as subthreshold bipolar disorder.

Classification

BD-NOS is a

mood disorder A mood disorder, also known as an affective disorder, is any of a group of conditions of mental and behavioral disorder where the main underlying characteristic is a disturbance in the person's mood. The classification is in the ''Diagnostic ...

and one of four subtypes on the bipolar spectrum, which also includes

bipolar I disorder Bipolar I disorder (BD-I; pronounced "type one bipolar disorder") is a type of bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by the occurrence of at least one manic episode, with or without mixed or psychotic features. Most people also, at other ti ...

, bipolar II disorder, and

cyclothymia Cyclothymia (, ), also known as cyclothymic disorder, psychothemia / psychothymia, bipolar III, affective personality disorder and cyclothymic personality disorder, is a mental disorder, mental and Abnormal behaviour, behavioural Disease#Disorder ...

. BD-NOS was a classification in the DSM-IV and has since been changed to Bipolar "Other Specified" and "Unspecified" in the 2013 released

DSM-5 The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the '' Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiat ...

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013). BD-NOS is a disorder which creates intense mood instability which causes bouts of depression, hypomania, and mania, and occasionally mood stability.

Diagnosis

Bipolar disorder is difficult to diagnose. If a person displays some symptoms of bipolar disorder but not others, the clinician may diagnose bipolar NOS. The diagnosis of bipolar NOS is indicated when there is a rapid change (days) between manic and depressive symptoms and can also include recurring episodes of

hypomania Hypomania (literally "under mania" or "less than mania") is a Psychiatry, psychiatric Abnormality (behavior), behavioral syndrome characterized essentially by an apparently non-contextual elevation of Mood (psychology), mood (i.e., euphoria) th ...

. Bipolar NOS may be diagnosed when it is difficult to tell whether bipolar is the primary disorder due to another general medical condition, such as a substance use disorder. A diagnosis of this condition can be challenging and is often imprecise.

Treatment

Individual approaches to treatment are recommended, usually involving a combination of

mood stabilizer A mood stabilizer is a psychiatric medication used to treat mood disorders characterized by intense and sustained mood shifts, such as bipolar disorder and the bipolar type of schizoaffective disorder. Uses Mood stabilizers are best known for t ...

s and

atypical antipsychotic The atypical antipsychotics (AAP), also known as second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) and serotonin–dopamine antagonists (SDAs), are a group of antipsychotic drugs (antipsychotic drugs in general are also known as tranquilizers and neurol ...

s. Psychotherapy may be beneficial and should be started early.

Epidemiology

The

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

of BD-NOS is 1.4%.

References

External links