The 5-HT2Areceptor gene 102T/C polymorphism is associated with suicidal behavior in depressed patients

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Several lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors constitute an important determinant of suicidal behavior. A significant association between the 5‐HT2A‐C allele and suicidality has recently been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the proposed association between 5‐HT2A‐102T/C polymorphism and suicidality could be replicated in a larger and independent sample of Spanish patients with major depression. The 102T/C polymorphism of the 5‐HT2A receptor gene was analyzed in 159 patients with major depression (DSM‐IV criteria) and 164 unrelated and healthy controls using a case control design. All individuals were subjects of Spanish origin. Significant differences in allele (chi‐square = 4.13, df = 1, P = 0.04) and genotype (chi‐square = 6.19, df = 2, P = 0.04) distributions were found between non–suicide attempters and suicide attempters. Moreover, those patients carrying 5‐HT2A‐C allele had more than five times the risk for attempting suicide than noncarriers (OR = 5.50, 95% CI = 1.18–35.20, P = 0.01). Our results replicate the proposed association between 5HT2A‐C allele and suicidality in major depression. Moreover, no overall associations are detected when patients with major depression and controls are compared for 102T/C frequencies, suggesting that the increased risk for suicidality conferred by 5‐HT2A‐C allele is primarily associated with suicidal behavior and not with the diagnosis of major depression itself.