ICD-10 Persistent Mood Disorders Coding Guide
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Looking for ICD-10 persistent mood disorders codes? This article provides key ICD-10 mood disorder diagnostic criteria, and includes all other specified persistent mood disorder codes, with specifiers.
Determining the right code for clinical assessments, treatment planning, and insurance and billing is an essential part of being a therapist or mental health practitioner.
Bookmark this article as a reference to use next time you need to access the most common ICD-10 persistent mood disorders codes.
What is the ICD-10?
The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) is a clinical guide published by the World Health Organization (WHO) that describes health conditions using standard diagnostic language. Clinicians in the U.S. use the ICD-10-CM, a clinical modification of the ICD-10, for diagnosis and insurance billing.
Clinicians in the U.S. also use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The DSM-5 also contains the relevant ICD-10 mood disorders coding information.
Using ICD-10 codes is essential when recording a diagnosis following a mental health evaluation. Diagnosis codes can also be used for insurance billing purposes and to standardize the recording of mental health diagnoses.
What are the codes for ICD-10 persistent mood disorders?
Mood disorders are classified in the ICD-10 under the section “Mood [affective] disorders” (F30 to F39), and the sub-section “Persistent mood [affective] disorders” (F34 to F34.9).
There are seven ICD-10 persistent mood disorders codes listed in the ICD-10, including other specified persistent mood disorders such as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, and the cyclothymic disorder ICD-10 code.
The ICD-10 mood disorder codes include:
- F34: Persistent mood [affective] disorder
- Note: This code should not be used for reimbursement purposes as there are multiple codes below it that contain a greater level of detail.
- F34.0: Cyclothymic disorder
- F34.1: Dysthymic disorder
- F34.8: Other persistent mood [affective] disorders
- Note: This code should not be used for reimbursement purposes as there are multiple codes below it that contain a greater level of detail.
- F34.81: Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
- F34.89: Other specified persistent mood disorders
- F34.9: Persistent mood [affective] disorder, unspecified
The dysthymic disorder ICD-10 code (F34.1) is number 15 in SimplePractice’s list of the 20 most-frequently billed ICD-10 codes.
Persistent mood disorder diagnostic criteria
Persistent mood [affective] disorders are characterized in the ICD-10 as fluctuating disorders of mood that are not severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of hypomanic or depressive episodes.
Other key features of persistent mood disorders include:
- They may last for several years or the greater part of an adult’s life
- They can be considerably distressing and disabling
- In some cases, recurrent or single manic or depressive episodes may be superimposed on a persistent affective disorder
While the ICD-10 persistent mood disorder codes are the same in the DSM-5, there are some key differences:
- The DSM-5 names persistent mood disorder as persistent depressive disorder
- In the DSM-5, persistent depressive disorder combines previous separate diagnoses from the DSM-IV of chronic major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder
According to the DSM-5, the diagnosis criteria for persistent depressive disorder includes:
- Depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, for at least 2 years
- Two or more of the following symptoms:
- Poor appetite or overeating
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Low energy or fatigue
- Low self-esteem
- Poor concentration or difficulty making decisions
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Feelings of hopelessness
- During the two years, the person has never been without symptoms for more than two months
- Criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) may be continuously present for two years, in which case patients should be given comorbid diagnoses of persistent depressive disorder and MDD
- Patient has never experienced a manic episode or a hypomanic episode
- The symptoms are not better explained by a psychotic or schizoaffective disorder
- The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance
- The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning
Clinicians may also indicate whether the condition is mild, moderate, or severe, along with the following specifiers:
- With anxious distress
- With atypical features
- In partial remission
- In full remission
- Early onset (before age 21)
- Late onset (over age 21)
- With pure dysthymic syndrome
- With persistent major depressive episode
- With intermittent major depressive episodes, with current episode
- With intermittent major depressive episodes, without current episodes
Differential diagnosis for persistent mood disorder
While some patients may meet one or two of the criteria for a persistent depressive disorder, there may be a more appropriate diagnosis to consider, such as:
- Other specified depressive disorders
- Bipolar disorders
- Cyclothymic disorder
- Substance/medication-induced bipolar and/or depressive related disorder
- Personality disorders
How to find the correct ICD-10 code
The full list of ICD-10 persistent mood disorder codes are available in the following digital and book formats:
- The official ICD-10 from the WHO, under the section “Persistent mood [affective] disorders” (F34 to F34.9)
- ICD-10 Data, a searchable ICD-10 database
- DSM-5 in the textbook and digital version
It is worth noting that while the DSM-5 does contain accurate ICD-10 codes, they may not align with the most recent ICD version and diagnostic criteria and other indicators may differ.
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