[Validation of the Argentine version of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire]

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a severe and recurrent medical illness with relevant impact on quality of life and functioning for patients. However, we still have significant deficits on its detection. One of the ways to improve the accurate recognition of the disease consists on the administration of screening tools such as the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). The main aim of this investigation was to validate the Argentine version of the MDQ and determine the optimal cut off for outpatients who suffer from mood disorders in our country. The total sample consisted of 354 adult outpatients with diagnosis of BD type I, II and NOS, and Unipolar - Major Mood Disorders (MDD), enrolled between 2007 and 2008, from 11 sites of Argentina. The MDQ positively detected 53.6% of BD patients and 96.6% of MDD patients. The best cut off for our sample was established in 5 points for item 1 of the MDQ. By deleting the item 3 of the questionnaire, the performance was significantly improved. In conclusion, the Argentine version of the MDQ has demonstrated the same ability for detecting patients with BD of the English original version on a psychiatric population.