Mania with and without depression in a community sample of US adolescents.

The increasing prevalence of bipolar disorder with increasing age and the comparable rate of bipolar disorder with those of adult samples highlight adolescence as the peak period of onset of mania. The clinical significance of mania plus depression as demonstrated by a 1 in 5 suicide attempt rate and nearly 2 months per year of role impairment in adolescence has important implications for early intervention. The evidence for independence of mania from depression warrants additional scrutiny in the diagnostic nomenclature and etiologic dissection of bipolar disorder.