Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic-depressive syndrome, is a chronic and recurrent mental illness that affects the mechanisms that regulate mood and may result in a high level of personal, familial, social and economic burden.

It is estimated that bipolar disorders affect approximately 2.4% of the global population (Merikangas et al. 2011). The illness onset typically occurs during young adulthood, although the diagnosis is often delayed, worsening the long-term prognosis (Altamura et al. 2015). Therefore, an early diagnosis is crucial to establishing an appropriate treatment plan as soon as possible.