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

Molecular Psychiatry volume 13, pages 122–130 (2008)Cite this article

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 best-estimate 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.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a clinical studies project (Myrna M Weissman, PI) of NIMH Program Project NIMH PO1 MH60970-04. Douglas Levinson, MD, and Thomas Lehner, PhD, MPH, provided important clarifications regarding the NIMH controls.

The NIMH sample was collected by ‘Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia II’ collaboration, and included the following investigators: ENH/Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, MH059571—Pablo V Gejman, MD (Collaboration Coordinator; PI), Alan R Sanders, MD; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, MH59587—Farooq Amin, MD (PI); Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center; New Orleans, LA, MH067257—Nancy Buccola APRN, BC, MSN (PI); University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, MH60870—William Byerley, MD (PI); Washington University, St Louis, MO, U01, MH060879—C Robert Cloninger, MD (PI); University of Iowa, Iowa, IA, MH59566—Raymond Crowe, MD (PI), Donald Black, MD; University of Colorado, Denver, CO, MH059565—Robert Freedman, MD (PI); University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, MH061675—Douglas Levinson, MD (PI); University of Queensland, QLD, Australia, MH059588—Bryan Mowry, MD (PI); Mt Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, MH59586—Jeremy Silverman, PhD (PI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    A Talati, A J Fyer & M M Weissman

  2. Division of Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    A Talati & M M Weissman

  3. Division of Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    A J Fyer

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    M M Weissman

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  1. A Talati
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Correspondence to M M Weissman.

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Talati, A., Fyer, A. & Weissman, M. A comparison between screened NIMH and clinically interviewed control samples on neuroticism and extraversion. Mol Psychiatry 13, 122–130 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4002114

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