title: Interaction between childhood trauma and serotonin transporter gene variation in suicide.
abstract: Although the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) contributes to depression and suicidality in a fashion modulated by environmental stress, 5-HTTLPR has been little examined in relation to suicidal behavior in substance dependence. Recently, a third functional allele of 5-HTTLPR was discovered enabling more of the interindividual variation in serotonin transporter expression to be predicted by genotype. We examined whether the 5-HTTLPR gene alone, or interacting with childhood trauma, was predictive of suicidal behavior in substance-dependent patients, a clinical population that is at high risk of suicide, as well as childhood trauma and other stress. We interviewed 306 abstinent male African-American substance-dependent patients about whether they had ever attempted suicide and administered the 34-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Patients and 132 male African-American controls were genotyped to determine the S, L(G), and L(A) 5-HTTLPR alleles; some analyses grouped the S and L(G) alleles on the basis of equivalent function. The distribution of 5-HTTLPR genotypes did not differ between patients and controls, nor between suicide attempters and non-attempters. However, patients with low expression 5-HTTLPR genotypes and above-median CTQ scores were more likely to have attempted suicide. Logistic regression showed increasing risk of a suicide attempt with increasing reports of childhood trauma scores; in addition, this increase was exaggerated among those with low expression forms of the 5-HTTLPR genotype. Childhood trauma interacts with low expressing 5-HTTLPR genotypes to increase the risk of suicidal behavior among patients with substance dependence.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey VA Health Care System, 385 Tremont Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018, USA. Alec.Roy@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Alec
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Xian-Zhang
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Malvin N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Janal
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013405:Suicide; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins