Cyclothymic
| Cyclothymia | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | psychiatry |
| ICD-10 | F34.0 |
| ICD-9-CM | 301.13 |
| MedlinePlus | 001550 |
| MeSH | D003527 |
Cyclothymia (/ˌsaɪkloʊˈθaɪmiə/), also called cyclothymic disorder, is a type of chronic mood disorder widely considered to be a more chronic but milder or subthreshold form of bipolar disorder. Cyclothymia is characterized by numerous mood swings, with periods of hypomanic symptoms that do not meet criteria for a hypomanic episode, alternating with periods of mild or moderate symptoms of depression that do not meet criteria for a major depressive episode.
An individual with cyclothymia may feel stable at a baseline level but experience a noticeable shift to an emotional high during subthreshold hypomanic episodes of elation or euphoria, with symptoms similar to those of mania but less severe, and often cycle to emotional lows with moderate depressive symptoms. To meet the diagnostic criteria for cyclothymia, a person must experience this alternating pattern of emotional highs and lows for a period of at least two years with no more than two consecutive symptom-free months. For children and adolescents, the duration must be at least one year.
While diagnosis of cyclothymia is becoming more common, it is not as frequent as that of bipolar disorder. Diagnosis of cyclothymia entails the absence of any major depressive episode, manic episode or mixed episode, which would qualify the individual for diagnosis of other mood disorders. When a major episode manifests after an initial diagnosis of cyclothymia, the individual may qualify for a diagnosis of bipolar I or bipolar II disorder. Although estimates vary greatly, 15–50% of cases of cyclothymia later advance to the diagnostic criteria for bipolar I and/or bipolar II disorder (with cyclothymic features). Although the emotional highs and lows of cyclothymia are less extreme than those of bipolar disorder, the symptomatology, longitudinal course, family history and treatment response of cyclothymia are consistent with bipolar spectrum.
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