Descriptive characteristics of study participants
| Characteristic | Group; mean (SD)* | Statistics | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAD (n = 34) | Control (n = 18) | t50 | p value | |
| Age (SD) [range], yr | 37.59 (8.60) | 34.50 (9.45) | 1.19 | 0.24 |
| [20–50] | [22–49] | |||
| Sex, female/male | 20/14 | 9/9 | — | 0.57† |
| Behavioural measures | ||||
| LSAS | 68.50 (20.64) | 7.22 (5.46) | 12.32 | < 0.001 |
| SPS | 37.88 (13.17) | 2.11 (2.54) | 11.36 | < 0.001 |
| SIAS | 51.32 (11.73) | 7.50 (4.36) | 15.25 | < 0.001 |
| SPSQ | 31.09 (7.28) | 4.61 (3.96) | 14.31 | < 0.001 |
| GAF | 73.44 (10.71) | 93.06(10.16) | 6.39 | < 0.001 |
| STAI-T | 50.97 (9.40) | 29.00 (6.80) | 8.76 | < 0.001 |
| STAI-S angry | 41.27 (11.04) | 28.83 (7.54) | 4.27 | < 0.001 |
| STAI-S neutral | 38.50 (9.42) | 28.00 (7.77) | 4.05 | < 0.001 |
| Genotype, no. | ||||
| 5-HTTLPR/s or ll | 16/18 | 9/9 | — | 0.99† |
| TPH2/T or GG | 13/21 | 6/12 | — | 0.77† |
| ≥ 1 high/both low | 22/12 | 12/6 | — | 0.99† |
| Both high (s+T)/1 high (s or T) | 7/15 | 3/9 | — | 0.99† |
5-HTTLPR = serotonin transporter promoter polymorphic region (s = short allele carriers, ll = homozygous for long allele); GAF = Global Assessment of Functioning self-report; high = high-response alleles (s, T); low = low-response alleles (ll, GG); LSAS = Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; SAD = social anxiety disorder; SD = standard deviation; SIAS = Social Interaction Anxiety Scale; SPS = Social Phobia Scale; SPSQ = Social Phobia Screening Questionnaire; STAI-S = Spielberger State Anxiety Scale; STAI-T = Spielberger Trait Anxiety Scale; TPH2 = tryptophan hydroxylase-2 polymorphism (T allele carriers or GG = homozygous for G allele).
↵* Unless otherwise indicated.
↵† Based on Fisher exact probability test.