Which statement best reflects the DSM-5 exclusion criteria for mood disorders?

• A. Symptoms must not be attributable to substances or another medical condition.
• B. Symptoms must be due to grief.
• C. Symptoms must be caused by insomnia.
• D. Symptoms must be due to poor nutrition.

Answer: (C)

In mood disorder diagnoses, the key rule is that the mood symptoms must not be attributable to substances or to another medical condition. This exclusion helps ensure we’re identifying a primary mood disorder rather than symptoms caused by an illness or by a substance, like hypothyroidism, anemia, brain injury, or the effects of drugs or alcohol. Grief used to exclude a major depressive episode, but in DSM-5 that bereavement exclusion was removed, so grieving alone doesn’t rule out a mood disorder. Sleep problems or poor nutrition can accompany mood disorders or be separate issues, but they aren’t the exclusion criteria themselves. The main idea is to confirm the mood symptoms aren’t better explained by another medical condition or substance.