Neither antisocial personality disorder nor antisocial alcoholism is associated with the MAO-A gene in Han Chinese males.
BACKGROUND
Recent studies on the genetics of alcoholism have suggested an association between antisocial alcoholism and the MAO-A gene. However, previous studies have failed to include subjects with antisocial personality disorder without alcoholism even though there is a high comorbidity between antisocial personality disorder and alcoholism. Consequently, the finding of an association between the MAO-A gene and alcoholism or antisocial personality disorder seems tenuous. In Taiwan, about 70% of the Han Chinese population have the ADH2*2 allele and 50% show ALDH2*1/*2 or ALDH2*2/*2 genotypes, which offer protection against drinking behavior and the risk of developing alcoholism. Thus, it is possible to recruit individuals with antisocial personality disorder but without alcoholism in Taiwan. Therefore, association studies of alcoholism or antisocial personality disorder in Chinese may be more reliable if pure antisocial alcoholics, pure antisocial personality disorders, and normal controls as MAO-A gene are examined.


METHODS
In this study, the associations among antisocial alcoholism, antisocial personality disorder, and the uVNTR and EcoRV polymorphisms of the MAO-A gene, both individually and as a haplotype, were investigated among male adults recruited from jails in Taipei. A total of 129 Chinese Han males were studied, including 41 with antisocial personality disorder with alcoholism, 50 with antisocial personality disorder but without alcoholism, and 38 without either disorder as a jail control group. The diagnoses of alcohol dependence and antisocial personality disorder were made according to DSM-IV criteria. In addition, 77 normal controls were collected from the community.


RESULTS
Strong linkage disequilibrium was found for the uVNTR and EcoRV variants of MAO-A gene in each study group.


CONCLUSIONS
No significant association was observed between these two polymorphisms and antisocial personality disorder with alcoholism, either individually or for the haplotype, or for antisocial personality disorder without alcoholism. Thus, neither antisocial alcoholism nor antisocial personality disorder was associated with the genetic variants of MAO-A gene.
Lu
Ru-Band
RB
Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan. rblu@tpts5.seed.net.tw
Lin
Wei-Wen
WW
Lee
Jia-Fu
JF
Ko
Huei-Chen
HC
Shih
Jean Chen
JC
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D013624:Taiwan
D008995:Monoamine Oxidase