A strong argument can be made for measuring both mood symptoms and quality of life over time in people with bipolar disorder. For example:

1. People may give higher priority to improvements in quality of life than in symptoms;
2. Symptoms and quality of life are not always as closely related as we might assume;
3. Treatments may impact symptoms and quality of life differently.

CREST.BD conducted a four-year program of research to develop the paper-and-pencil version of the Quality of Life in Bipolar Disorder (QoL.BD) scale, the first quality of life questionnaire specifically designed for people with bipolar disorder. The full version of the scale assesses contains 56 questions and has 12 basic domains:

Physical, Sleep, Mood, Cognition, Leisure, Social, Spirituality, Finances, Household, Self-esteem, Independence and Identity) and two optional domains (Work and Education).

The QoL.BD Scale is now available on our site for download in 14 languages (scroll to bottom of page): English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Hungarian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Tamil, and Turkish. We welcome use of the QoL.BD and QoL Tool in clinical settings; no permission is required, and no licencing fees imposed.