F43.21
BillableAdjustment disorder with depressed mood
HCC Category Mapping
RxHCCHCC 133 — Personality Disorders, Anxiety, and Other Specified Mental Disorders
0.000What This Code Means
A condition where a person develops depressed mood and emotional distress in response to a specific identifiable life stressor or change.
Coding Tips
- •Document the specific stressor (job loss, relationship change, relocation, etc.) that triggered the adjustment
- •Confirm that depressed mood is the predominant symptom and that symptoms began within 3 months of the stressor
Clinical Significance
Adjustment disorder with depressed mood represents a reactive depression developing within 3 months of an identifiable stressor. It is clinically important to distinguish this from major depressive disorder, as adjustment disorders are expected to be time-limited and resolve once the stressor or its consequences end. This distinction affects treatment planning and prognosis.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Identifiable stressor documented
- ✓Depressed mood as the predominant symptom
- ✓Symptom onset within 3 months of the stressor
- ✓Symptoms do not meet full criteria for major depressive disorder
- ✓Functional impairment or marked distress beyond what would be expected
- ✓Current treatment plan (supportive therapy, brief psychotherapy, possibly short-term medication)
Commonly Confused Codes
F32.0 (Major depressive disorder, single episode, mild) — MDD has specific diagnostic criteria (5+ symptoms, 2+ weeks); adjustment disorder with depressed mood is reactive and does not meet full MDD criteriaF43.23 (Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood) — Use F43.21 when depressed mood predominates without significant anxietyF43.20 (Adjustment disorder, unspecified) — Use the specific subtype F43.21 when depressed mood is documentedF34.1 (Dysthymic disorder) — Dysthymia is chronic (2+ years); adjustment disorder is time-limited
Code Hierarchy
└F43Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders└F43.2Adjustment disorders└F43.21Adjustment disorder with depressed mood
└F43.21Adjustment disorder with depressed mood