Serotonin transporter regulatory region polymorphism is associated with anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Several lines of evidence support possible serotonin transporter (5-HTT) involvement in modulating eating disorders (ED). The 5-HTT gene is a good candidate for genetic studies on the course of ED, despite controversy concerning the association between polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene promoter region (5-HTTLPR) and ED. Comparison of 5-HTTLPR distribution in 195 female Japanese ED patients and 290 age- and gender-matched control subjects facilitated examining the association between the course of the disease and 5-HTTLPR in 138 of 195 ED subjects. The 5-HTTLPR S allele frequency was significantly higher in subjects with anorexia nervosa (AN) than in control subjects. Among subjects observed > or =3 years, the S allele frequency was significantly higher in those diagnosed as AN at ED onset than in those diagnosed as AN in this study. The 5-HTTLPR S allele might play some role in the development of AN with persistent disease.

Association between serotonin transporter gene polymorphism and eating disorders: A meta‐analytic study

“…23,24 In the past few years, some studies have examined the association between 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and EDs. Some preliminary findings have suggested a positive association of the S allele with BN, 25 or AN, 26,27 but these positive results were not replicated in the following studies. It remained unclear if the failed replication was due to the lack of sufficient power of individual studies, heterogeneity of samples across studies, or random error in the absence of a true effect.…”

“…Two papers had examined 5-HTTLPR in both patients. 25,27 The paper by Lauzurica et al had provided genetic data of a subset of patients who had history of AN episode; therefore, these patients were categorized as both AN and BN groups. 31 Two studies were excluded because they had examined abnormal eating behaviors in nonclinical samples, 34 or binge ED, 35 not in patients with AN or BN.…”

“…Through computerized database search, eight papers were identified and included into this metaanalysis [25][26][27][29][30][31][32][33] (Table 1), with 2,015 participants (961 patients with ED and 1,054 controls). Two papers had examined 5-HTTLPR in both patients.…”

Pharmacogenetics of antidepressant response

“…In fact, the same genetic variation can be associated with different symptoms. For example, the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism has been associated with different characteristics of mood disorders (i.e., age at onset, 452,453 illness recurrence, 225,454 drug response, reactivity to stressful life events, 455 personality traits) 456 alcoholism, 457 smoking 458 and several psychiatric diagnoses, including psychosomatic disorders, 459 eating disorders, 460,461 suicide, 462 autism 463 and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. 464 Future studies will hopefully clarify whether such phenotypes are all simultaneously present in the same individuals.…”

What Do We Know about the Serotonergic Genetic Heterogeneity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Autistic Disorders?

“…With a categorybased approach, the attention deficits or obsessive-compulsive symptoms in autistic patients or anxiety symptoms and repetitive behavior in children and adolescents with ADHD can easily be understood as an expression of additive comorbidity. Symptomatic similarities of anorexia nervosa and Asperger syndrome, as described by Gillberg et al [83] , might be a further evidence for the necessity of a dimensional approach and can probably also be explained through serotonergic mechanisms [84,85] .…”