Screening for postpartum bipolar disorder: validation of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire.

Background: Despite the prevalent nature of postpartum depression in women with bipolar disorder, there are currently no screening instruments designed specifically for bipolar disorder in the postpartum period.

Methods: Women with histories of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder (type I or II) attending an outpatient perinatal clinic were administered the Mood Disorder Questionnaire during the first month after delivery. An experienced research coordinator, blind to the Mood Disorder Questionnaire results, conducted a face to face diagnostic interview using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV.

Results: A total of 57 women with bipolar disorder (30 with bipolar II disorder and 27 with bipolar I disorder) and 68 women with major depressive disorder completed the Mood Disorder Questionnaire between two to four weeks after delivery. The traditional scoring criteria yielded a sensitivity of 75.44% [95%CI: 62.24%-85.87%] and a specificity of 86.76% [95%CI: 76.36%-93.77%]. The optimal cut-off score was eight or more endorsed symptoms without the supplementary questions (a sensitivity of 87.72% [95% CI: 76.32%-94.92%] and a specificity of 85.29% [95%CI: 74.61%-92.72%]).

Conclusions: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire with alternate scoring is a useful screening instrument for bipolar disorder in the postpartum period.