By John Gever, Senior Editor
MedPage Today
Originally published December 1, 2012
The American Psychiatric Association's board of trustees has approved the fifth edition of its influential diagnostic manual, dubbed DSM-5, the group announced Saturday.
The board vote is the last step before the manual is formally released at the APA's annual meeting next May. The association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was last revised in 1994; that edition is known colloquially as DSM-IV.
According to an APA statement, changes include an end to the system of "axes" used to class diagnoses into broad groups, and an associated restructuring of diagnostic groups to bring disorders thought to be biologically related under the same headings.
Also, many of the diagnostic criteria will now include so-called dimensional assessments to indicate severity of symptoms.
Specific language in DSM-5 was not immediately released, and probably won't be until the formal unveiling in May. Detailed criteria that had been published on the APA's DSM5.org website for public review and comment have now been removed.
However, the statement released Saturday indicated that the manual will include many of the most controversial of the proposed changes from DSM-IV.
The entire article is here.
