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HFE mutations and transferrin C1/C2 polymorphism among Croatian patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible influence of hemochromatosis gene mutations (HFE-C282Y and H63D) and transferrin gene C2 variant (TF-C2) on susceptibility to schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and/or age at first hospital admission. Genotyping was performed in 176 Croatian patients and 171 non-psychiatric Croatian controls using PCR-RFLP analyses. Regarding the H63D mutation, allele and genotype frequencies reached boundary statistical significance. Other allele and genotype distributions were not significantly different between two groups. We also analyzed age at first hospital admission as a continuous variable using the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis test, and multiple regression analysis. The results of these tests were negative. We concluded that investigated HFE mutations and TF-C2 variant are not high-risk genetic variants for schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder in our population. Also our data do not support their impact on age at onset of the first psychotic symptoms.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all anonymous reviewers for their critical and helpful comments. This research was supported by Grant No. 062-0982522-0369 from the Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports, Zagreb, Croatia. The Ministry had no further role in the study design; collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the decision to submit this paper for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Brace Branchetta 20, 51000, Rijeka, Croatia

    Alena Buretić-Tomljanović, Jadranka Vraneković, Miljenko Kapović & Smiljana Ristić

  2. Psychiatry Clinic, Clinical Medical Centre, Rijeka, Croatia

    Gordana Rubeša

  3. Psychiatric Hospital, Rab, Croatia

    Suzana Jonovska & Vesna Šendula-Jengić

  4. Private Psychiatric Practice, Rijeka, Croatia

    Draško Tomljanović

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  1. Alena Buretić-Tomljanović
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  2. Jadranka Vraneković
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Correspondence to Alena Buretić-Tomljanović.

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Buretić-Tomljanović, A., Vraneković, J., Rubeša, G. et al. HFE mutations and transferrin C1/C2 polymorphism among Croatian patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Mol Biol Rep 39, 2253–2258 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-011-0974-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-011-0974-0

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