Neuropsychiatric Genetics of African Populations - Psychosis (NeuroGAP-Psychosis)

Inclusion Criteria
Cases:
Inclusion of cases is based on clinical diagnosis as confirmed by clinician referral and/or medical record review, willingness and ability to participate as ascertained by ability to consent or assent. To ensure participants have sufficient capacity and autonomy to consent to the study, the UBACC (University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent) tool was used. Cases must be at least 18 years old with no age limit for participation. Women who are pregnant are allowed to participate, unless they have any of the exclusion criteria. For cases who are inpatients to be included, a clinician’s attestation to the stability of said inpatient is obtained prior to consenting.
Controls:
Inclusion of controls is based on their willingness and ability to participate as ascertained by ability to consent or assent. To ensure participants have sufficient capacity and autonomy to consent to the study, the UBACC was utilized. Controls consist of individuals who present for treatment of general medical conditions at university-affiliated general medical hospitals and community health centers, and homes that draw from similar catchment areas to the psychiatric hospitals where cases are recruited. Controls will be matched at the analyses stage to cases in accordance with age (within a ten-year age group), sex, and self-reported ancestry. Controls must be at least 18 years old with no age limit for participation. Women who are pregnant are allowed to participate unless they have any of the exclusion criteria.
Exclusion Criteria
Cases:
Cases are excluded given the absence of a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder or an unwillingness or inability to participate. Other reasons for being unable to participate include:
exhibiting acute, intrusive levels of psychiatric symptoms;
being under the age of 18 years old;
acute levels of alcohol or substance abuse, as demonstrated by being a current inpatient or under acute medical care for one of these conditions;
persons who are involuntarily detained;
persons not fluent in one of the languages the consent form has been translated into;
if the participant is an inpatient, not having a clinician attestation to their stability;
not being able to consent to the study as defined by the UBACC
Controls:
Exclusion criteria for controls include:
having a psychotic disorder diagnosis, current or history of psychotic symptoms;
currently taking psychiatric medication for psychosis;
acute levels of alcohol or substance abuse as demonstrated by being a current inpatient or under acute medical care for one of these conditions;
being under the age of 18 years old;
persons not fluent in one of the languages the consent form has been translated into;not being able to consent to the study as defined by the UBACC.

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Currently, there are major limitations in our knowledge of the genetic and environmental risk architecture of psychiatric disorders in persons of African descent. Large genomic studies of psychiatric disorders have been conducted almost exclusively in European ancestry populations. When it comes to studies focused specifically on mental disorders in Africa, there are very few. For example, only one of 27 H3Africa projects focuses on mental disorders. The lack of genetic diversity means we are limited in our ability to understand biological mechanisms, predict genetic risk, and produce optimal therapy for African populations. This illustrates the need for a study like NeuroGap that aims to initiates a large effort to investigate the genetics of psychotic disorders in Africa.]]>