Background: Bipolar disorders often develop in children and adolescents but are seldom diagnosed before adulthood. These illnesses are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The aim of this paper is to provide knowledge to facilitate earlier diagnosis.
Material and method: Medline search.
Results: Bipolar disorders are characterised by serious fluctuations in energy and mood. The diagnosis of bipolar disorders in children and adolescents is challenging because the clinical presentation is influenced by ongoing neural development, which cause considerable symptom overlap and comorbidity with ADHD, conduct disorders, anxiety and Tourette's syndrome. ADHD symptoms may be a precursor of bipolar disorder among some of the youngest children, and prepubertal depression is often pre-bipolar.