Screening for Bipolar Disorder with the Mood Disorders Questionnaire: A Review

Abstract

The MDQ's performance depends upon the setting in which it is used, the threshold to identify caseness, and the subtype of bipolar disorder examined. Conceptual issues in the use of a bipolar disorder screening questionnaire are discussed, and questions are raised about the clinical value of a self-report screening scale for bipolar disorder. Based on current available evidence, routine clinical use of the MDQ cannot be recommended because of the absence of studies simultaneously examining both the potential benefits (e.g., improved detection) and costs (e.g., overdiagnosis) of screening.

Associations between circadian rhythm instability, appraisal style and mood in bipolar disorder

“…BHR participants who scored positively were not excluded due to the poor sensitivity of the MDQ within general population samples (Zimmerman and Galione, 2011), and rates of undiagnosed mood disorders in high-risk populations MacKinnon et al, 2002;Wals et al, 2001).…”

“…With regard to establishing a bipolar disorder diagnosis, self-report data was considered alongside scores on the MDQ which has been shown to demonstrate comparable utility with diagnostic interview criteria (Miller et al, 2004;Todd et al, 2014). However, concerns have been raised regarding the sensitivity of the MDQ when used within general population samples (Zimmerman and Galione, 2011).…”

Lifetime prevalence, sociodemographic correlates, and diagnostic overlaps of bipolar spectrum disorder in the general population of South Korea

“…Nevertheless, Hirschfeld et al (2003b) reported that the original MDQ had as low of sensitivity as 0.28 whereas its specificity was 0.97 against the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Especially, it was also revealed that the low sensitivity of the MDQ would be more problematic in detecting cases of BP-II than of BP-I in general population studies (Dodd et al, 2009;Zimmerman and Galione, 2011). To improve its low sensitivity, researchers have suggested that the threshold for functional impairment be eliminated or lowered to a minor level, and this modification was proven to achieve a 20-50% point improvement in sensitivity without sacrificing specificity (Chung et al, 2009;Miller et al, 2004;Zimmerman and Galione, 2011).…”

“…Especially, it was also revealed that the low sensitivity of the MDQ would be more problematic in detecting cases of BP-II than of BP-I in general population studies (Dodd et al, 2009;Zimmerman and Galione, 2011). To improve its low sensitivity, researchers have suggested that the threshold for functional impairment be eliminated or lowered to a minor level, and this modification was proven to achieve a 20-50% point improvement in sensitivity without sacrificing specificity (Chung et al, 2009;Miller et al, 2004;Zimmerman and Galione, 2011). Meanwhile, Jon et al (2009) validated the K-MDQ in a clinical sample with the elimination of parts 2 and 3, which yielded acceptable levels of sensitivity (0.75) and specificity (0.69) against unstructured clinical diagnoses.…”

Cribado para el trastorno bipolar en pacientes de atención primaria que presentan síntomas psicológicos

“…Es un cuestionario autoadministrado para el cribado del trastorno bipolar 18,19 . Consta de 13 ítems de respuesta sí/no basados en la clínica y en los criterios sintomáticos del DSM-IV para el trastorno bipolar.…”