{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T15:20:36Z","timestamp":1774279236001,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":75,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Bipolar affective disorder has traditionally been defined by episodic mania and depression, largely restricted to Bipolar I and II categories. However, growing evidence suggests this framework underrepresents the broader longitudinal spectrum and may misclassify a subset of cases as borderline personality disorder (BPD) or other comorbidities. A narrative review was conducted, integrating historical and conceptual analyses of diagnostic frameworks (DSM-III to DSM-5), epidemiological studies over four decades, and the author\u2019s extensive clinical experience with longitudinal follow-up of complex affective cases. Literature addressing comorbidity, diagnostic delays, and symptom overlap was critically examined within a comparative and hypothesis-oriented framework. Findings indicate that bipolar spectrum disorders (BPSD) are substantially underdiagnosed, with prevalence plausibly exceeding traditional categorical estimates when cumulative longitudinal spectrum phenomena are considered. The suggested prevalence range of 15\u201320% represents a theoretical upper-bound hypothesis derived from clinical extrapolation and longitudinal observation, rather than a definitive epidemiological estimate. Conditions commonly diagnosed as BPD, ADHD, or anxiety may, in a subset of cases, represent longitudinal affective presentations overlapping with the bipolar spectrum. Evidence supports a spectrum model encompassing multiple subtypes, such as bipolar with panic attacks, ADHD comorbidity, antidepressant-induced mania, and ultra-rapid cycling. The continued use of BPD as a diagnostic category is questioned due to poor construct validity and overlap with bipolarity. Reconceptualizing bipolar disorder as a spectrum within a cautiously framed longitudinal model is essential to improve diagnostic accuracy, guide treatment, and optimize long-term outcomes, while remaining subject to prospective empirical validation. This manuscript is explicitly framed as a narrative, hypothesis-generating review rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis; accordingly, prevalence estimates discussed herein should be regarded as exploratory and conceptual rather than definitive epidemiological claims.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1776491","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T14:32:51Z","timestamp":1774276371000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Revisiting the prevalence of bipolar disorder: implications of a broader spectrum model"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Anatoly","family":"Kreinin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clalit Psychiatric Hospitalization Control System, Clalit General Health Services, Israel Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University","place":["Ariel, Israel"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","article-title":"The evolving epidemiology of bipolar disorder","volume":"11","author":"Angst","year":"2012","journal-title":"World Psychiatry"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1476-5381.2011.01318.x","article-title":"Predictive animal models of mania: hits, misses and future directions","volume":"164","author":"Young","year":"2011","journal-title":"Br J Pharmacol"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0001-4079(19)33801-4","article-title":"150e anniversaire de la Folie Circulaire [Circular insanity, 150 years on","volume":"188","author":"Pichot","year":"2004","journal-title":"Bull Acad Natl Med"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2004.04.005","article-title":"Biphasic course in bipolar II outpatients: prevalence and clinical correlates of a cyclic pattern described by Baillarger and Falret in hospitalised patients in 1854","volume":"96","author":"Benazzi","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"B5","volume-title":"Psychiatrie. 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