A comparison between screened NIMH and clinically interviewed control samples on neuroticism and extraversion

Abstract

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has supported the collection of DNA samples on over 4000 subjects for use primarily as controls in psychiatric genetic studies. These subjects, though screened online, were not directly interviewed or assessed on family history. We compared this sample to one that was directly interviewed using structured diagnostic assessments on comparable measures of neuroticism and extraversion. The screened sample completed an online self-report based on the Composite International Diagnostic Instrument Short-Form (CIDI-SF). The interviewed sample was assessed by clinically trained personnel using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS-LA-IV) and Family History Screen; final diagnoses were made blind to trait scores by a clinician using the bestestimate procedure. Neuroticism and extraversion were assessed on the NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI) and the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire short form (EPQ-R). We found that subjects in the NIMH-screened sample who did not report any psychiatric symptoms on the self-report were indistinguishable from interviewed diagnosis free and family history negative controls on neuroticism and extraversion. Subjects in the screened sample who screened positive for anxiety disorders, however, deviated significantly on these measures both from the screened subjects with no self-reported symptoms, as well as from subjects in the interviewed sample diagnosed with comparable disorders. These findings suggest that control groups generated from the NIMH sample should ideally be restricted to subjects free of any self-reported symptoms, regardless of the disorder being addressed, in order to maximize their reflection of diagnosis-free populations.

Characterization of SLITRK1 Variation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

“…Additional control samples used for N4001 genotyping (n = 679) were also matched for ancestry and had been screened for the absence of OCD and related disorders [25].…”

Genetic variants within the serotonin transporter associated with familial risk for major depression

“…Absence of SS may protect against psychobiological responses to stressful events, and is consistent with the lower rates of depressive and anxiety disorders in the low-risk group (Weissman et al, 2006; Weissman et al, 2005). Although we cannot elucidate why the low-risk group deviates from population-expected frequencies, it should be noted that probands in the low-risk group were selected to have no history of any psychopathology and thus may not be reflective of population-based controls (Talati et al, 2008). The low-risk group also had higher rates of the heterozygous (SL) genotypes [67% observed, vs. 47% expected], which has been shown to be advantageous via increasing fitness and flexibility to adapt (Cools and Robbins, 2004; Gosso et al, 2008)].…”

Effects of Sexual Orientation and Gender on Perceived Need for Treatment by Persons With and Without Mental Disorders

“…The CIDI-SF, administered by trained lay interviewers, provides screening assessments of community samples for common mental disorders. Studies have found moderate agreement between CIDI-SF diagnoses and those obtained by face-to-face diagnostic clinical interviews (34,35). Probable diagnoses were obtained for past-year major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic attacks using DSM-III-R criteria (36).…”