Expert Appointments Key Step on Road to DSM-V

Development of DSM-V is officially under way as appointments to the DSM-V work groups were finalized and made public in May (Psychiatric News, June 6). Formation of the DSM-V Task Force was completed and announced in July 2007. Both the task force and work groups are meeting in person and by telephone conferencing to discuss various aspects of the revision process.

The task force is chaired by David Kupfer, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, with Darrel Regier, M.D., M.P.H., director of APA's Division of Research and executive director of the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education (APIRE), serving as vice chair. Task force members include chairs of each of the 13 work groups and representatives from APA and the National Institutes of Health, including Wilson Compton, M.D., M.P.E.; Javier Escobar, M.D.; Steven Hyman, M.D.; Helena Kraemer, Ph.D.; Daniel Mamah, M.D.; James McNulty, A.B., Sc.B.; Howard Moss, M.D.; William Narrow, M.D., M.P.H.; Roger Peele, M.D.; Maritza Rubio-Stipec, Sc.D.; Philip Wang, M.D.; William Womack, M.D.; and Kimberly Yonkers, M.D.

The work groups were developed to assure a comprehensive review of the diagnostic categories in DSM-IV. These groups include 132 national and international scientific researchers and clinicians with expertise in psychiatry, psycholog y, neuroscience, biology, genetics, statistics, epidemiology, public health, nursing, pediatrics, and social work.

These are the names of the 13 work groups and their respective chairs:

A listing of all work group members is posted on APA's Web site at<www.dsmv.org>.

In addition to work group formation, four DSM-V study groups have been convened with designated chairs to examine cross-cutting issues, including topics on lifespan and developmental aspects (Susan Schultz, M.D.), diagnostic spectra (Steven Hyman, M.D.), gender and cross-cultural expression (Kimberly Yonkers, M.D.), and psychiatric/general medical interface (Lawson Wulsin, M.D.). A fifth group focused on assessing impairment is now being formed (Jane Paulsen, M.D.).

The work groups and study groups are developing specific research questions and hypotheses based on reviews of existing literature, findings from the 13 DSM research planning conferences, and work from published research-agenda “white papers.” Plans for secondary data analyses to address these questions are being implemented.

Kupfer said members are cognizant of the medical, social, and political implications of their decision making.

“We are quite impressed with the activities of both the work and study groups in terms of the procedures and strategies that they are developing in making recommendations that are both empirically valid and clinician friendly,” he said. “We are confident that these steps will ensure sound decision making for both scientists and practitioners who will use DSM-V.”

One result of member activities already noticeable is reflected in the titles of the work groups. Given the scope of work to be covered, five of the groups enacted name changes to better reflect the content and breadth of their discussions. Subsequently, Externalizing Disorders was renamed ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Somatoform Disorders was renamed Somatic Distress Disorders; Sleep Disorders was renamed Sleep-Wake Disorders; Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders was renamed Neurocognitive Disorders; and Anxiety Disorders was renamed Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum, Posttraumatic, and Dissociative Disorders.

The task force has met five times, with the most recent meeting taking place April 21 and 22. Most work groups have met in person twice and hold conference calls once or twice a month. Each study group has had six to 10 conference calls since April 2007.

There are 35 in-person work group meetings scheduled to take place between now and November 2009. The next in-person meeting of the DSM-V Task Force will be October 26 and 27.

Publication of DSM-V is slated for May 2012. ▪