We spoke with Gustavo Perdomo; psychiatrist from the Santa Fe de Bogotá and Catalina Botero Foundation; coordinator of the team of psychologists at on this question asked by several users on Google.
It depends, there is no rule that says that at ‘x’ age bipolar disorder can occur, generally, symptoms begin to appear towards late adolescence (15 years) and early adulthood (35 years) and, Up to certain years, the symptoms are more present and stronger. At that point it is time to define what a bipolar affective disorder is and rule out other disorders, which were possibly on the radar.
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This is a condition that can appear at any time in life, although it is not normal to develop bipolar disease after the fourth decade of life, that is, after 30 years of age or older, despite the fact that there are cases of it. Bipolar affective disorder in the elderly.
Like any disease, it is part of a spectrum and does not behave in the same way. There are people who have latent manifestations, that is, symptoms that hide their true nature, as for what bipolar disease is, and it can only be diagnosed after the age of 30-40. They are mild forms or, as we say colloquially, “they go from crouching down” and they simply remain as moments in life or as people who are a little strange, but beyond that nothing happens.
When an important event already occurs and triggers a depressive or manic episode, which is the most striking aspect of a bipolar illness, that is when it is suddenly diagnosed.
In older adults, it is also possible to find not only a person with bipolar disease from youth until adulthood, but also a person who develops bipolar disease at a later age; However, here we must rule out another series of medical causes or other types of pathologies that may be leading this person to the alteration of their mood. It is not the most common, but it could occur with a specific approach.
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