Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
Some people have had periods when their mood or energy was clearly different from usual: more elevated, more irritable, less need for sleep.
Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and...
...you felt so good or so hyper that other people thought you were not your normal self or you were so hyper that you got into trouble?
...you were so irritable that you shouted at people or started fights or arguments?
...you felt much more self-confident than usual?
...you got much less sleep than usual and found you didn't really miss it?
...you were much more talkative or spoke faster than usual?
...thoughts raced through your head or you couldn't slow your mind down?
...you were so easily distracted by things around you that you had trouble concentrating or staying on track?
...you had much more energy than usual?
...you were much more active or did many more things than usual?
...you were much more social or outgoing than usual, for example, you telephoned friends in the middle of the night?
...you were much more interested in sex than usual?
...you did things that were unusual for you or that other people might have thought were excessive, foolish, or risky?
...spending money got you or your family into trouble?
If you checked YES to more than one of the above, have several of these ever happened during the same period of time?
How much of a problem did any of these cause you, like being unable to work; having family, money, or legal troubles; getting into arguments or fights?
About the questionnaire
The MDQ is a screening questionnaire and does not give a diagnosis. Answering yes to many of the questions is not the same as having bipolar disorder. In a Norwegian study of 510 adults with ADHD, about half screened positive on the questionnaire, compared with 8% of a control group. In a US study of 428 psychiatric outpatients without bipolar disorder, 15% screened positive, and they more often had ADHD, anxiety, PTSD or substance use problems than those who screened negative.
Sources
- Halmøy A, Halleland H, Dramsdahl M, et al. (2010). Bipolar symptoms in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a cross-sectional study of 510 clinically diagnosed patients and 417 population-based controls. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 71(1), 48-57.
- Zimmerman M, Galione JN, Chelminski I, et al. (2011). Psychiatric diagnoses in patients who screen positive on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire: Implications for using the scale as a case-finding instrument for bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Research, 185(3), 444-449.
- Zimmerman M, Galione JN (2011). Screening for bipolar disorder with the Mood Disorders Questionnaire: a review. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 19(5), 219-228.
- Wang HR, Woo YS, Ahn HS, et al. (2015). The validity of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire for screening bipolar disorder: a meta-analysis. Depression and Anxiety, 32(7), 527-538.
- Mundy J, Hübel C, Adey BN, et al. (2023). Genetic examination of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire and its relationship with bipolar disorder. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 192(7-8), 147-160.
- Hirschfeld RM, Holzer C, Calabrese JR, et al. (2003). Validity of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire: a general population study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(1), 178-180.