Bipolar and related disorders affect approximately percent of the population.

According to Akiskal, H. S., & Vázquez, G. H. (2006), it was previously considered that no more than 1% of the population suffered from the so-called "bipolar disorder" (manic-depressive psychosis). Recent studies have shown that the estimated percentage of carriers of the now denominated "bipolar spectrum" is at least 5%. The concept of "bipolar spectrum" was proposed in 1977 by Akiskal, Djenderedjian, Rosenthal & Khani, during the evaluation of ambulatory cyclothymic patients.

Such individuals showed diverse and non-convincing alterations to comply with the symptomatology and duration criteria described by the DSM-IV. From that now, the clinical spectrum today is expanded to types I (manic-depressive or bipolar I), II (bipolar II), III (hypomania associated with antidepressants), and IV (depression in hyperthymic).

In clinical practice, various intermediate phenotypes have been described, such as  the schizobipolar, depressions with prolonged hypomania, depressions with mood instability, and mood changes in the context of alcohol or substance abuse. Akiskal, H. S., & Vázquez, G. H. (2006), also propose in their work, other new forms, cataloged unofficially  as types IV and V.

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Keywords: Bipolar spectrum - Classification - Prevalence - Sub-affective disorders - Temperaments

References: Akiskal, H. S., & Vázquez, G. H. (2006). An expansion of the frontiers of bipolar disorder: validation of the spectrum concept. Vertex, 340-346.

Akiskal HS, Djenderedjian AH, Rosenthal RH, Khani MK. Cyclothymic disorder: Validating the criteria for inclusion in the bipolar affective group. Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134: 1227- 1233.

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