Dataset Information

Association between the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹??Met Polymorphism and Alexithymia in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

ABSTRACT: Alexithymia, defined as a deficit in the ability to recognize and describe one's own feelings, may be related to the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹??Met polymorphism and alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).We recruited 244 patients with OCD (169 males, 75 females). Alexithymia was assessed using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and genotyping of the COMT Val¹??Met polymorphism was evaluated.Patients with the COMT Val/Val genotype had significantly higher total and "difficulty identifying feelings" (DIF) subdimension scores than those with the Val/Met or Met/Met genotypes. Patients with the COMT Val/Val genotype had significantly higher "difficulty describing feelings" (DDF) subdimension scores than those with the COMT Val/Met genotype. However, there were no differences in the scores for the "externally oriented thinking" (EOT) subdimension among the three genotypes.These results indicate that the high-activity Val allele of the COMT Val¹??Met polymorphism is associated with increased alexithymic traits in patients with OCD. The present finding suggests that alexithymia is an endophenotype of OCD that is mediated by the COMT Val¹??Met polymorphism.

SUBMITTER: Koh MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4800363 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association between the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹⁵⁸Met Polymorphism and Alexithymia in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Koh Min Jung MJ Kang Jee In JI Namkoong Kee K Lee Su Young SY Kim Se Joo SJ

Yonsei medical journal 20160501 3

<h4>Purpose</h4>Alexithymia, defined as a deficit in the ability to recognize and describe one's own feelings, may be related to the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism and alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).<h4>Materials and methods</h4>We recruited 244 patients with OCD (169 males, 75 females). Alexithymia was asses ...[more]

PMID: 26996573

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Project description:Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may share aspects of genetic etiology. Evidence supports the Val 108/158 Met polymorphism of the Catechol-o-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene as potentially contributing to the etiology of both disorders. To determine whether the COMT gene is associated with personality traits related to genetic risk for either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, we examined dimensions of personality psychopathology in biological relatives of individuals with the disorders. Specifically, we contrasted personality characteristics of first-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia, first-degree relatives of people with bipolar-I disorder, and nonpsychiatric control participants using scores from the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Brief Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ). We also characterized the COMT Val 108/158 Met polymorphism of subjects. Compared to controls, relatives of schizophrenia patients scored lower on stimulus seeking and higher on restrictive expression and social avoidance. Compared to relatives of bipolar patients, relatives of schizophrenia patients had lower scores on narcissism, rejectionality (i.e., rejection of ideas of others), stimulus seeking, passive-aggressive oppositionality, and self-harm. The subset of relatives of schizophrenia patients who were COMT val homozygotes exhibited lower scores on narcissism, rejectionality, and stimulus seeking than met homozygote relatives of schizophrenia patients and control participants. Although relatives of bipolar patients showed scale elevations consistent with emotional dysregulation, the scores failed to be associated with the Val 108/158 Met polymorphism. Abnormally low narcissism and rejectionality in val homozygote relatives of schizophrenia patients suggests that the val allele of the COMT polymorphism may be associated with an underdeveloped self-concept phenomenologically similar to made volition and passivity experiences comprising first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia.

Dataset Information

Association between the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹??Met Polymorphism and Alexithymia in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Publications

Association between the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val¹⁵⁸Met Polymorphism and Alexithymia in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Similar Datasets

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