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Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) val158met Polymorphism as a Risk Factor for PTSD After Urban Violence

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Abstract

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that requires a traumatic event as diagnostic criteria. Brazil has high rates of violence, and it is expected that urban victims of violence would be at risk to the development of PTSD. Studies have associated the COMT val158met polymorphism with diminished stress resilience, reduced ability to extinguish conditioned fear, and the development of PTSD after multiple traumatic experiences. The aim of this study was to identify, in a case–control study, whether the val158met polymorphism (rs4860) is associated with the development of PTSD in a group of victims of urban violence. To our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the association between PTSD and urban violence. The polymorphism of COMT in PTSD patients (n = 65) as well as in victims of violence without PTSD (n = 34) and in a community control group (n = 335) were genotyped. We found a significant relationship between the met allele (p < 0.02) and PTSD among cases (PTSD+)and victims of violence without PTSD (PTSD−; OR 2.57) and between cases and community control group (p < 0.003) Further analysis with larger samples and another ethnic group should be necessary to confirm our findings.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Estado de São Paulo (grant: 2004/15039-0); NLMV received a scholarship from the Ministry of Education (CAPES). JJM is a CNPq level I researcher, and MFM, RAB, and SBA are CNPq level II researchers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Botucatu 431 - Villa Clementino, CEP 04023-061, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Nina Leão Marques Valente, Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan, Sergio Baxter Andreoli, Jair Jesus Mari & Marcelo Feijó Mello

  2. King’s College London, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom

    Jair Jesus Mari

  3. Departamento de Psiquiatria da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Homero Vallada & Quirino Cordeiro

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  1. Nina Leão Marques Valente
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  2. Homero Vallada
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  3. Quirino Cordeiro
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  4. Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan
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  5. Sergio Baxter Andreoli
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  6. Jair Jesus Mari
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  7. Marcelo Feijó Mello
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Correspondence to Nina Leão Marques Valente.

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Valente, N.L.M., Vallada, H., Cordeiro, Q. et al. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) val158met Polymorphism as a Risk Factor for PTSD After Urban Violence. J Mol Neurosci 43, 516–523 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-010-9474-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-010-9474-2

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