Lauer C J, von Zerssen D, Schreiber W, Modell S, Holsboer F, Krieg J C
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
J Affect Disord. 1998 Oct;51(1):45-53. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0327(98)00155-4.
The pre-morbid personality profile 'autonomic lability' (e.g. elevated neuroticism, frequent somatic complaints and increased interpersonal sensitivity) is suggested to be an antecedent of major depression. Recently, we reported that the psychometric profile of healthy first-degree relatives of patients with an affective disorder (so-called high-risk probands; HRPs) was characterized by the personality trait 'rigidity' in association with 'autonomic lability' and speculated that such a profile might be a potential candidate for a true vulnerability marker for affective disorders. Because one major prerequisite for any valid vulnerability marker is its stability over time, we re-examined our HRPs about four years after index assessment.
Sixteen HRPs from the initial sample (n=54) participated in the follow-up investigation which, on average, took place 47 months after index assessment. All these HRPs had remained mentally healthy during the follow-up period.
The psychometric profile was remarkably stable over the four-year period when considering the total group of the 16 HRPs. On an individual level, similar findings were obtained. Allowing a fluctuation within a narrowly defined 'band width', a constancy of the self-ratings was found in 75% of the HRPs, within a broader 'band width' this was the case in 88% of the HRPs.
The power of the present observations appears to be somewhat limited due to the still small sample size of HRPs re-investigated and the fact that the control probands were not yet re-examined.
The present follow-up findings in 16 probands at high risk for an affective disorder indicate a sufficient stability of the psychometric profile over time, so that this requirement for a true vulnerability marker is fulfilled.
病前人格特征“自主神经易激惹性”（如神经质升高、频繁的躯体不适和人际敏感性增加）被认为是重度抑郁症的一个先兆。最近，我们报告称，情感障碍患者健康的一级亲属（所谓的高危先证者；HRPs）的心理测量特征表现为与“自主神经易激惹性”相关的“僵化”人格特质，并推测这种特征可能是情感障碍真正易感性标志物的潜在候选者。由于任何有效易感性标志物的一个主要前提是其随时间的稳定性，我们在首次评估约四年后对我们的HRPs进行了重新检查。
初始样本（n = 54）中的16名HRPs参与了随访调查，平均在首次评估后47个月进行。所有这些HRPs在随访期间均保持心理健康。
考虑16名HRPs的总体时，心理测量特征在四年期间非常稳定。在个体层面上也获得了类似的结果。在一个狭窄定义的“带宽”内允许波动的情况下，75%的HRPs自我评分保持恒定，在更宽的“带宽”内，88%的HRPs是这种情况。
由于重新调查的HRPs样本量仍然较小，且对照先证者尚未重新检查，目前观察结果的效力似乎有所受限。
本次对16名情感障碍高危先证者的随访结果表明，心理测量特征随时间具有足够的稳定性，因此满足了真正易感性标志物的这一要求。
