Bipolare Störung und manisch-depressive Erkrankung im Internet

Objective: The internet is an important source of information and exchange for patients and can exert considerable influence on their health-related behaviours and decisions. This makes the quality of information on the internet an important factor. The present study analyzes the quality of German-language internet information on "bipolar disorder" and "manic-depressive disorder". Methods: Two separate searches were conducted with the terms "bipolar disorder" and "manic-depressive disorder", using the Google search engine set to produce only German hits. The quality of the first hundred resulting sites was assessed according to a range of criteria considering form and content. Results: Comprehensive information on the nature of the illness (such as symptoms and diagnosis) was provided more frequently by sites resulting from the search term "manic-depressive disorder". The term "bipolar disorder" produced more results offering information on evidence-based therapeutic strategies. Discussion: It is necessary to improve the available internet information on the term "bipolar disorder", and to establish the term as firmly as its predecessor, the term "manic-depressive disorder".