Pediatric bipolar disorder: Preliminary results of a retrospective study using a nationwide administrative database

Introduction Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and chronic illness characterized by episodic changes in mood. The average onset of BD symptoms is estimated between 18 and 22 years. However, many adults retrospectively report symptoms onset in childhood or adolescence. Over the last decades, pediatric bipolar disease (PBD) has been the focus of increased attention mainly due to controversies surrounding its prevalence, diagnosis and treatment in the pediatric population. Objectives To analyze pediatric hospitalizations related to BD held in mainland Portuguese public hospitals between 2000 and 2015. Methods This retrospective observational study analyzed all pediatric (