Smoking and genetic risk variation across populations of European, Asian, and African American ancestry--a meta-analysis of chromosome 15q25.

Recent meta-analyses of European ancestry subjects show strong evidence for association between smoking quantity and multiple genetic variants on chromosome 15q25. This meta-analysis extends the examination of association between distinct genes in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region and smoking quantity to Asian and African American populations to confirm and refine specific reported associations. Association results for a dichotomized cigarettes smoked per day phenotype in 27 datasets (European ancestry (N = 14,786), Asian (N = 6,889), and African American (N = 10,912) for a total of 32,587 smokers) were meta-analyzed by population and results were compared across all three populations.

Reliability of informant ratings and spouse similarity based on the Temperament and Character Inventory.

A cohort of 136 Swedish spouse pairs rated themselves and each other with the Temperament and Character Inventory. The data allowed assessment of the reliability of ratings by knowledgeable informants compared to self-rating for this personality test. The reliability of the informant rating was in the expected range, with an average correlation of .

Exploring the temperament and character traits of rural and urban doctors.

Context: Australia shares many dilemmas with North America regarding shortages of doctors in rural and remote locations. This preliminary study contributes to the establishment of a psychobiological profile for rural doctors by comparing temperament and character traits with an urban cohort.

Purpose: The aim was to compare the individual levels and combinations of temperament (mildly heritable and stable) and character (developmental and modifiable) traits of rural and urban general practitioners (GPs).

Exploring temperament and character traits in medical students; a new approach to increase the rural workforce.

Background: This study explored temperament and character traits in medical students to identify the possible predictive value of these traits to students with varying levels of intention to pursue rural medicine. This work is the precursor to a better understanding of personality traits associated with medical disciplines within specific environments such as rural medicine.

Aims: The long term aim is to increase the recruitment of students who are best suited, and choose to practice in rural locations.

Screening for alcohol problems: an epidemiological perspective and implications for primary care.

In a random sample of 917 adults from the general population greater St. Louis, 19.6% of respondents screened positive for "probable alcohol abuse or dependence".

Discrepancies in estimates of prevalence and correlates of substance use and disorders between two national surveys.

Aim: To assess the degree to which methodological differences might influence estimates of prevalence and correlates of substance use and disorders by comparing results from two recent surveys administered to nationally representative US samples.

Methods: Post-hoc comparison of data from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) with data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) administered in 2001-02.

Results: Prevalence estimates for all substance use outcomes were higher in the NSDUH than in the NESARC; ratios of NSDUH to NESARC prevalences ranged from 2.

Prevalence and correlates of binge eating disorder in a community sample.

Objective: Diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder (BED) appear in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition as "criteria for further study." Few epidemiological studies of BED have been conducted. Our aim was to describe the prevalence and correlates of BED, as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) in a community sample.

Diet and personality: associations in a population-based sample.

Background: Large portions of the population of the United States of America fail to follow dietary recommendations. Psychological factors may contribute to non-adherence.

Objective: Establish the associations between heritable personality styles, attitudes towards food, and habitual eating behavior.

Can personality assessment predict future depression? A twelve-month follow-up of 631 subjects.

Background: Personality assessment provides a description of a person's fundamental emotional needs and of the higher cognitive processes that modulate thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Prior studies by us examined personality and mood at the same time. Assessing personality may allow prediction of mood changes over time in a longitudinal study, as described in earlier prospective studies by Paula Clayton and others.

Prevalence and predictors of pathological gambling: results from the St. Louis personality, health and lifestyle (SLPHL) study.

Objectives: We report the prevalence of and risk and protective factors for DSM-IV sub-threshold gambling (1-4 criteria) and pathological gambling disorder (PGD; 5-10 criteria) in a non-clinical household sample of St. Louis area gamblers.

Methods: Of the 7689 individuals contacted via Random Digit Dialing, 3292 were screened eligible.

Relationship between specialty choice and medical student temperament and character assessed with Cloninger Inventory.

Background: Multiple variables affect medical specialty choice, including temperament, sociodemographic factors, and personal experiences. Many studies address specific variables for specific specialties, but few assess the relative impact of each factor.

Purpose: To identify the relative influence of temperament in choosing a specialty.

Personality and depressive symptoms: a multi-dimensional analysis.

Background: The relationship of temperamental aspects of personality to symptoms of depression in a community-based sample of 804 individuals was examined using a multi-dimensional approach to account for heterogeneity in symptom patterns.

Method: The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was used to assess personality and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Canonical correlation analysis was used to relate CES-D item combinations to temperament traits in multiple dimensions.