Genome-Wide Association Study of Schizophrenia

The goal of the study is to find susceptibility genes for schizophrenia.

Dataset versioning

• Version 1: European-American (EA) ancestry only
• Version 2: Version 1 plus African-American (AA) ancestry

Consent groups and participant set

• General research use (GRU): 4591 cases and controls (1217 EA cases, 1442 EA controls, 953 AA cases, 979 AA controls)
  This consent group includes a subset of schizophrenia cases and all controls (which overlap with Bipolar study controls in Bipolar: GRU dataset).
• Schizophrenia and related disorders (SARC): 475 cases (187 EA cases, 288 AA cases)
  This consent group includes a subset of schizophrenia cases.

• Study Weblinks:
  • GAIN The Genetic Association Information Network
• Study Design:
  • Case-Control
• Study Type:
  • Case-Control
• dbGaP estimated ancestry using GRAF-pop
• Total number of consented subjects: 5064
• Subject Sample Telemetry Report (SSTR)

• All subjects must give signed, informed consent.
• Probands must have a consensus best-estimate DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) diagnosis of SZ (schizophrenia) or of schizoaffective disorder with at least six months' duration of the "A" criteria for schizophrenia.
• Subjects must be over 18 years of age at interview, male or female.
• The informant should have known the subject for at least two years, be familiar with the psychiatric history, and have at least one hour of contact per week with the proband (close family members preferred).

• Unable to give informed consent to all aspects of the study.
• Unable to speak and be interviewed in English (to ensure validity of the interviews).
• Psychosis is deemed secondary to substance use by the consensus diagnostic procedure because psychotic symptoms are limited to periods of likely intoxication or withdrawal, or there are persistent symptoms which are likely to be related to substance use (i.e., increasing paranoia after years of amphetamine use; symptoms limited to visual hallucinations after extensive hallucinogen use).
• The psychotic disorder is deemed secondary to a neurological disorder such as epilepsy based on the nature and timing of symptoms. For example, non-specific, non-focal EEG abnormalities are common in SZ, but subjects with psychosis that emerged in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy would be excluded.
• Subjects with severe mental retardation (MR). Subjects with mild MR (IQ is greater than or equal to 55 or based on clinical and educational history) will be included, if SZ symptoms and history can be clearly established.

• Primary Phenotype: Schizophrenia

• Lead Principal Investigator and Clinical Site PI
  • Pablo V. Gejman, MD. NorthShore University HealthSystem (NUH), Evanston, IL, USA.
• Statistical Task Force Chair, Clinical Site PI, Clinical Database
  • Douglas F. Levinson, MD. Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
• Clinical Site PI
  • Farooq Amin, MD. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
  • Donald W. Black, MD. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA.
  • Nancy G. Buccola, APRN., CNS-BC. Louisiana State University Health Services Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
  • William F. Byerley, MD. University of San Franciso, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • C. Robert Cloninger, MD. Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
  • Robert Freedman, MD. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA.
  • Bryan J. Mowry, MD. Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Queensland, Australia.
  • Jeremy M. Silverman, PhD. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
• Statistician
  • Frank Dudbridge, PhD. University of Cambridge, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, UK.
  • Peter A. Holmans, PhD. Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
  • Maria Martinez, PhD. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Toulouse, France.
  • Itsik Pe'er, PhD. Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
  • Jianxin Shi, PhD. Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
  • Alice Whittemore, PhD. Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
• Co-Investigator
  • Jubao Duan, PhD. NorthShore University HealthSystem (NUH), Evanston, IL, USA.
  • Ayman H. Fanous, MD. Washington VA Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
  • Kenneth S. Kendler, MD. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
  • John P. Rice, PhD. Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
  • Alan R. Sanders, MD. NorthShore University HealthSystem (NUH), Evanston, IL, USA.
• Institutions
  • Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
  • NorthShore University HealthSystem (NUH), Evanston, IL, USA.
  • Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
  • Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
  • Queensland Ctr. for Mental Health Res. (QCMHR) and Univ. Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
  • Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
  • University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
  • University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA.
  • University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
  • Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
• Funding Source - MGS1 and MGS2 Sample Collections
  • R01 MH67257. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH59588. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH59571. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH59565. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH59587. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH60870. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH60879. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH59566. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH59586. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01 MH61675. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
• Funding Source - Genotyping and Analyses
  • U01 MH79469. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • U01 MH79470. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.