No association between COMT val158met polymorphism and suicidal behavior: meta-analysis and new data

Abstract

BackgroundThe polymorphism COMTval158met has been associated with suicidal behavior in case-control and meta-analysis studies, but results and conclusions remain controversial. The objective of this study was to examine the association between COMT val158met with suicidal behavior in a case-control study and to assess the combined evidence -this case-control study and available data from other related studies- we carried out a meta-analysis.MethodsWe conducted a case-control study with 105 patients with suicide attempts and 236 controls. Subsequently, we performed a meta-analysis of published genetic association studies by searching through Medline, PubMed and Web of Science databases.ResultsNo significant differences were found in the distribution of alleles (χ2 = 0.33, 1 df, p = 0.56) or genotypes (χ2 = 2.36, 2 df, p = 0.26). The meta-analysis comprising 12 association studies (including the present one) showed that the risk COMTmet allele of COMTval158/met is not associated with suicidal behavior (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.97-1.23), even in the absence of heterogeneity (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.97-1.23).ConclusionOur results showed no association between COMTval158/met and suicidal behavior. However, more studies are necessary to determine conclusively an association between COMT and suicidal behavior.

The Meta-Analysis in Medicine: Tools for Clinical and Experimental Research

“…The significance of the OR of all studies was determined by the Z test. They conducted a test of heterogeneity between the studies selected for the purpose of determining whether the effect size from a homogeneous sample [9,11,12].…”

“…One of the main objectives of clinical research is to obtain clear and reliable results that can be utilized in the management of patients and [9,10].…”

“…These words were combined to retrieve the summaries. The search also implicated the review of the bibliography cited at the end of various research articles to identify additional papers not covered by the electronic search of abstracts [9].…”

“…For that reasons, meta-analysis that only includes published studies about the same objective in study tend to show biased results. By its nature, it is very difficult avoid the publication bias [2,9,11,12].…”

Genes, the serotonergic system and suicidal behavior

“…Etimológicamente, la palabra suicidio resulta de la unión de las palabras latinas sui (sí mismo) y caedere (matar), siendo su significado literal "acción de matarse a sí mismo". Se define como toda aquella conducta, generalmente consciente, que va encaminada hacia la autodestrucción (por acción u omisión) del propio sujeto, aunque sea difícil comprobar la intencionalidad e independientemente de que la persona sepa o no el móvil de su conducta suicida (Gutiérrez-García, Contreras, y Rosselli, 2006;Tovilla-Zarate et al, 2011;Vega, Blasco, y SC, 2002). En él intervienen tanto los pensamientos suicidas (ideación suicida) como el acto suicida en sí.…”