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Bipolar Disorder in Later Life

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Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

Synonyms

Bipolar affective disorder; Manic depression

Definition

A chronic affective disorder characterized by major depressive episodes, mild elation (i.e., hypomania), irritability, or extreme elation (i.e., mania).

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD; previously known as bipolar affective disorder and manic depression) is a chronic affective disorder that affects nearly six million American adults. Classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), BD is characterized by extremes of mood. Although nearly everyone experiences mood variability, people with BD experience very profound shifts in mood (e.g., periods of clinical depression, mild elation [hypomania], or extreme elation [mania] or irritability). The condition is both complex and heterogeneous; an individual with BD can experience symptoms of depression, mania (elated mood), hypomania, or psychosis, or indeed experience combinations of each in varying sequences. Moreover, those with BD may...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRMACS Centre, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    David B. King

  2. Department of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel

    Norm O’Rourke

Authors
  1. David B. King
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  2. Norm O’Rourke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David B. King .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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King, D.B., O’Rourke, N. (2015). Bipolar Disorder in Later Life. In: Pachana, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_203-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_203-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-080-3

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