The mood disorder questionnaire improves recognition of bipolar disorder in psychiatric care.
BACKGROUND
We investigated our translation of The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) as a screening instrument for bipolar disorder in a psychiatric setting in Finland.


METHODS
In a pilot study for the Jorvi Bipolar Study (JoBS), 109 consecutive non-schizophrenic psychiatric out- and inpatients in Espoo, Finland, were screened for bipolar disorder using the Finnish translation of the MDQ, and 38 of them diagnostically interviewed with the SCID.


RESULTS
Forty subjects (37%) were positive in the MDQ screen. In the SCID interview, twenty patients were found to suffer from bipolar disorder, of whom seven (70%) of ten patients with bipolar I but only two (20%) of ten with bipolar II disorder had been previously clinically correctly diagnosed. The translated MDQ was found internally consistent (alpha 0.79) and a feasible screening tool.


CONCLUSIONS
Bipolar disorder, particularly type II, remains commonly unrecognized in psychiatric settings. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire is a feasible screen for bipolar disorder, which could well be integrated into psychiatric routine practice.
Isometsä
Erkki
E
Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. erkki.isometsa@ktl.fi
Suominen
Kirsi
K
Mantere
Outi
O
Valtonen
Hanna
H
Leppämäki
Sami
S
Pippingsköld
Marita
M
Arvilommi
Petri
P
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations