Cognitive profiles and heritability estimates in the Old Order Amish.
This study aimed to establish the applicability of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) in the Old Order Amish (OOA) and to assess the genetic contribution toward the RBANS total score and its cognitive domains using a large family-based sample of OOA.



RBANS data were collected in 103 OOA individuals from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, including 85 individuals without psychiatric illness and 18 individuals with current psychiatric diagnoses.



The RBANS total score and all five cognitive domains of in nonpsychiatric OOA were within half a SD of the normative data of the general population. The RBANS total score was highly heritable (h=0.51, P=0.019). OOA with psychiatric diagnoses had a numerically lower RBANS total score and domain scores compared with the nonpsychiatric participants.



The RBANS appears to be a suitable cognitive battery for the OOA population as measurements obtained from the OOA are comparable with normative data in the US population. The heritability estimated from the OOA is in line with heritabilities of other cognitive batteries estimated in other populations. These results support the use of RBANS in cognitive assessment, clinical care, and behavioral genetic studies of neuropsychological functioning in this population.
aDepartment of Professional Counseling and Social Work, Capital Seminary and Graduate School/Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania bDepartment of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center cDepartment of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine dDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Ryan M
RM
Kuehner
Peter
P
Kochunov
Katie L
KL
Nugent
Deanna E
DE
Jurius
Anya
A
Savransky
Christopher
C
Gaudiot
Heather A
HA
Bruce
James
J
Gold
Alan R
AR
Shuldiner
Braxton D
BD
Mitchell
L Elliot
LE
Hong
D000328:Adult; D061365:Amish / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results