What Does Severe Childhood Irritability Signify?

Youths with severe irritability show persistent, impairing symptoms and psychiatric comorbidity 4 years later.

With the inclusion of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) in DSM-5, severe irritability in children and adolescents is receiving increased attention. Now, researchers report follow-up diagnostic and impairment data for 200 youths with baseline diagnoses of severe mood dysregulation (SMD; the syndrome used as the basis for DMDD).

All youths (65% male, 82% white; mean age, 11.6 years) were participating in a longitudinal study of SMD and had severe irritability, behavioral reactivity, and hyperarousal, present for ≥1 year, with onset before age 12, and causing severe impairment in at least one domain (home, school, or peers). At baseline, 98% had received outpatient mental health treatment, and 36% had been hospitalized.

Retrospective…

Reviewing Author

Deborah Cowley, MD

Disclosures

Grant / Research supportHealth Resources and Services Administration; Katz Family Foundation

Deborah Cowley, MD

Disclosures

Grant / Research supportHealth Resources and Services Administration; Katz Family Foundation

What Does Severe Childhood Irritability Signify?

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Reviewing Author