Test Your Knowledge on Mood Disorders

Overview of Mood Disorders

• Mood disorders are a group of mental and behavioral disorders characterized by a disturbance in the person's mood.

• There are seven groups of mood disorders, including abnormally elevated mood, depressed mood, and moods that cycle between mania and depression.

• An individual may have more than one mood disorder, and mood disorders may also be substance-induced or occur in response to a medical condition.

• Mood disorders can be classified as substance-induced if their etiology can be traced to the direct physiologic effects of a psychoactive drug or other chemical substance.

• Alcohol and benzodiazepines can cause both depression and mania.

• Mood disorders may be caused by genetic factors or by a predictable response to certain types of life occurrences.

• Women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with stress-related mood disorders, and sex differences in stress-responsive neuroendocrine function may play a role.

• Different types of treatments are available for mood disorders, such as therapy and medications.

• Major depressive disorder medications usually include antidepressants, and bipolar disorder medications can consist of antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anticonvulsants, and/or lithium.

• Lithium has been proven to reduce suicide and all causes of mortality in people with mood disorders.

• N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), creatine monohydrate (CM), and melatonin could be potential treatment options for mood disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction or mitochondrial diseases.

• There are different types of depression scales used to determine treatment, including self-report scales, clinical rating scales, and scales for depression symptoms that apply to the general population.Mood Disorders: Epidemiology and Research

• The PHQ-9 and the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) are self-report measures used to diagnose mood disorders.

• Women are twice as likely to develop certain mood disorders, such as major depression, than men.

• The prevalence of depressive symptoms has increased by 6% in recent generations compared to individuals from older generations.

• In 2011, mood disorders were the most common reason for hospitalization among children aged 1-17 years in the United States, with approximately 112,000 stays.

• Mood disorders were the top principal diagnosis for Medicaid super-utilizers in the United States in 2012.

• A study of 18 states found that mood disorders accounted for the highest number of hospital readmissions among Medicaid patients and the uninsured.

• In 2012, mood and other behavioral health disorders were the most common diagnoses for Medicaid-covered and uninsured hospital stays in the United States.

• A study conducted in 1988 to 1994 among young American adults estimated lifetime prevalence based on six mood measures.

• Kay Redfield Jamison and others have explored the possible links between mood disorders and creativity.

• It has been proposed that a "ruminating personality type may contribute to both [mood disorders] and art."

• The relationship between depression and creativity appears to be especially strong among poets.

• There is a link between mood disorders and creativity.