Diagnosing bipolar disorder in trauma exposed primary care patients.

Objectives: Bipolar disorder (BD) is often under-recognized in non-psychiatric settings, especially in African Americans. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a screening instrument proposed to show adequate sensitivity and specificity for bipolar spectrum disorders. The current study is an examination of the usefulness of this instrument in a trauma exposed subgroup of mainly African American patients attending primary care clinics.