Association between catechol-O-methyltransferase and phobic anxiety.
OBJECTIVE
The authors assessed the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and scores on the phobic anxiety scale of the Crown-Crisp Experimental Index.


METHODS
A total of 1,234 women completed the Crown-Crisp Experimental Index phobic anxiety scale and were genotyped for the COMT polymorphism. The authors used unconditional logistic regression to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the association between the COMT genotype and phobic anxiety.


RESULTS
The mean scores for the three genotypes were statistically significantly different. Compared to the COMT Met/Met genotype, the age-adjusted odds ratio for scoring >/=6 compared to scoring 0 or 1 were 1.15 (95% CI=0.71-1.85) and 1.99 (95% CI=1.17-3.40) for the COMT Val/Met and COMT Val/Val genotypes, respectively; a significant gene dosage effect was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the functional COMT polymorphism is associated with the development of phobic anxiety.
McGrath
Monica
M
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. nhmmc@channing.harvard.edu
Kawachi
Ichiro
I
Ascherio
Alberto
A
Colditz
Graham A
GA
Hunter
David J
DJ
De Vivo
Immaculata
I
D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002892:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase; D004298:Dopamine