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Transcription Factor Activating Protein-2β (TFAP-2β) genotype and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in relation to symptoms of depression in two independent samples

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Abstract

The Transcription Factor Activating Protein-2β (TFAP-2β) gene has been shown to influence monoaminergic neurotransmission, and several genes important for monoaminergic function have binding sites for TFAP-2β. Familial studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest a hereditary-determined subtype of ADHD with comorbid depression. We examined a functional variation of the TFAP-2β gene in the context of co-occurring symptoms of ADHD and depression in two independent population-based samples of adolescents (Group A, n = 175 and Group B, n = 1,506) from Sweden. Results indicated 6.1 to 7.8 % of adolescents screened positively for ADHD and depression symptoms. Symptoms of depression were more common among girls who screened positively for ADHD and did not carry the nine-repeat allele of the TFAP-2β intron 1 Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) polymorphism. The presence of the nine-repeat variant of the TFAP-2β intron 1 VNTR appears to protect girls with ADHD symptoms from the co-expression of symptoms of depression.

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Acknowledgments

Grants from the following funds and organizations are acknowledged: The Swedish research Council, The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), Systembolagets råd för alkoholforskning (SRA), Swedish Brain Foundation, AFA Insurance, Olle Engkvist Byggmästare, The Uppsala and Örebro Regional Research Council, Fredrik and Ingrid Thurings Foundation, the County Council of Västmanland, König-Söderströmska Foundation, The Swedish Psychiatric Foundation, and the Svenska Spel Research Foundation. The sponsors had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

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No conflict of interest declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Clinical Research, Västmanland County Hospital, Uppsala University, 721 89, Västerås, Sweden

    Kent W. Nilsson, Karin Sonnby & Jerzy Leppert

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, POB 593, 751 24, Uppsala, Sweden

    Niklas Nordquist, Erika Comasco & Lars Oreland

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Umeå, 901 85, Umeå, Sweden

    Rickard L. Sjöberg

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  1. Kent W. Nilsson
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Correspondence to Kent W. Nilsson.

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Nilsson, K.W., Sonnby, K., Nordquist, N. et al. Transcription Factor Activating Protein-2β (TFAP-2β) genotype and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in relation to symptoms of depression in two independent samples. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 23, 207–217 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-013-0450-6

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