Prevalence and comorbidity rates of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in epidemiological and clinical samples: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the prevalence of disruptive mood dysregulation disorders (DMDD) in community-based and clinical populations.

Methods: PubMed and PsychINFO databases were searched, using terms specific to DMDD, for studies of prevalence and comorbidity rates conducted in youths below 18.

Results: Fourteen studies reporting data from 2013 to 2023 were included. The prevalence of DMDD in the community-based samples was 3.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-6.0) and 21.9% (95% CI, 15.5-29.0) in the clinical population. The differences in the identification strategy of DMDD were associated with significant heterogeneity between studies in the community-based samples, with a prevalence of 0.82% (95% CI, 0.11-2.13) when all diagnosis criteria were considered. Anxiety, depressive disorders, and ADHD were the most frequent comorbidity present with DMDD. The association with other neurodevelopmental disorders remained poorly investigated.

Conclusions: Caution is required when interpreting these findings, considering the quality of the reviewed data and the level of unexplained heterogeneity among studies. This review stresses the importance of considering a strict adhesion to DMDD criteria when exploring its clinical correlates.