DSM-IV › Mood disorders › Specifiers describing course of recurrent episodes 

Specifiers Describing Course of Recurrent Episodes

A number of specifiers for Mood Disorders are provided to increase diagnostic specificity and create more homogeneous subgroups, assist in treatment selection, and improve the prediction of prognosis. Specifiers that describe the course of recurrent episodes include Longitudinal Course Specifiers (With and Without Full Interepisode Recovery), Seasonal Pattern, and Rapid Cycling. These specifiers cannot be coded. Table 2 indicates which course specifiers apply to each Mood Disorder (see p. 424).

Table 2. Course specifiers that apply to Mood Disorders

	With/Without Interepisode Recovery	Seasonal Pattern	Rapid Cycling
Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode
Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent	X	X
Dysthymic Disorder
Bipolar I Disorder, Single Manic Episode
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Hypomanic	X	X	X
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Manic	X	X	X
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Mixed	X	X	X
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Depressed	X	X	X
Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Unspecified	X	X	X
Bipolar II Disorder, Hypomanic	X	X	X
Bipolar II Disorder, Depressed	X	X	X
Cyclothymic Disorder

Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision^TM. Copyright 2000 American Psychiatric Association. All Rights Reserved.