New statistical method calculates diagnostic probabilities across three psychiatric disorders
A statistical method called differential diagnosis polygenic risk score can now distinguish schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder from each other and from controls. Published in Nature Genetics, the method models variance-covariance structure across the three conditions to estimate posterior probabilities for each diagnostic category. Researchers applied DDx-PRS to Psychiatric Genomics Consortium datasets covering 1,048,683 individuals, including summary-level training data from three case-control genome-wide association studies with 41,917 to 173,140 cases each. In a held-out test cohort of 11,460 individuals with equal numbers per diagnostic category, the method showed good calibration and power. True diagnosis probabilities in the top deciles of predicted probabilities were considerably larger than prior baseline probabilities.
The method offers a way to genetically separate clinically related psychiatric conditions using polygenic risk scores, potentially useful in certain clinical settings where distinguishing between these disorders matters for treatment decisions.
Written by the Genomes desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Research use only; not medical advice. Corrections: [email protected].