Screening for Bipolar Disorder

The purpose of screening is early diagnosis and treatment. Screening tests are usually administered to people without current symptoms, but who may be at high risk for certain diseases or conditions.

Screening Guidelines or Tests

There are some screening tools for bipolar disorder, such as the Mood Disorder Questionnaire. This one-page report has 13 yes-or-no questions that are based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual'scriteria for bipolar disorder.

References:

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; 2000.

Bipolar disorder. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php . Updated September 2008. Accessed September 9, 2008.

Bipolar disorder. National Institute of Mental Health website. Available at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ . Updated June 2008. Accessed September 9, 2008.

Screening for bipolar disorder. The American Journal of Managed Care.2007;13:S164-S169.