title: Cannabis use, COMT, BDNF and age at first-episode psychosis.
abstract: Although an interaction between COMT Val158Met and BDNF Val66Met polymorphisms with cannabis use has been proposed with respect to the risk of psychosis emergence, findings remain inconclusive. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the different possible associations between these polymorphisms and early cannabis use and the age at the first episode of psychosis. The relationship between age at psychosis onset and COMT Val158Met and BDNF Val66Met polymorphisms with early cannabis use as well as those factors associated with early cannabis use were investigated. Among 260 Caucasian first-episode psychosis patients, early cannabis use and the presence of the met-allele from the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism were significantly associated with age at psychosis onset. Furthermore, early cannabis use was significantly associated with male gender in the logistic regression analysis. These findings provide evidence of the important role of early cannabis use and the Val66Met BDNF polymorphism on age at psychosis onset and they point out to sex-specific differences in cannabis use patterns.
authors.affiliation: Hospital del Mar, Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Department of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain. Electronic address: manesantacana@yahoo.es.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mané
authors.affiliation: Hospital del Mar, Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Department of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bergé
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, IiSGM, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Jose
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Penzol
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, IiSGM, Madrid, Spain; School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parellada
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Barcelona Clinic Schizophrenia Unit, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miquel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bioque
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Zaragoza University: IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Alava-Santiago, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Pinto
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica-Sant Pau (IIB-SANT PAU), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Iluminada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Corripio
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Barcelona Clinic Schizophrenia Unit, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Bibiana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Torres
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; IRYCIS, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Universidad de Alcala, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jerónimo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saiz-Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Barcelona Clinic Schizophrenia Unit, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernardo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000483:Alleles; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C588010:COMT protein, human; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase
keywords: Cannabis; Gender; Polymorphism; Schizophrenia