Objective: According to DSM-5, bipolar disorder is a condition in which the patient experiences one or several manic episodes and sometimes major depressive episodes too. The signs and symptoms of the disorders in DSM are generally influenced by cultural and ethnic factors. Therefore, the present study was aimed at identifying the clinical manifestations of mania in bipolar I disorder in Iranian population.
Methods: The present work is a cross-sectional study. The participants included 64 patients in the manic phase of bipolar I disorder who were selected from the Razi psychiatric hospital and the Taleghani Hospital, using a convenience sampling method. The study data were gathered using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS).
Results: According to the findings, the most common signs and symptoms of mania in hospitalized patients with bipolar I disorder included reduced need for sleep (89.1), poor insight (87.5), elevated mood (85.9), talkativeness (79.7), and psychotic features (68.8). The major symptoms of the patients according to DSM-5 criteria included reduced need for sleep (89.1), talkativeness (79.7), and psychomotor agitation (40.6). According to t-test analysis, patients with and without a history of mental disorders did not have significantly different mania scores. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis indicated no significant difference in mania scores based on the age of onset of the disorder, marital status (single, married, divorced, or widow), education level, and number of hospitalizations. The chi-squared test revealed that patients with a lower education level showed more aggressive behaviors.
Conclusion: According to our results, since the response of a patient to a particular treatment is largely influenced by the symptoms of the disorder, clinicians should pay critical attention to the most common signs and symptoms of any mania.