Citation

Beitchman JH, Baldassarra L, Mik H, De Luca V, King N, Bender D, Ehtesham S, Kennedy JL. Am. J. Psychiatry 2006; 163(6): 1103-1105.

Affiliation

Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St., Toronto, Ont. Canada, M5T 1R8. Joe_Beitchman@camh.net

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ajp.163.6.1103

PMID

16741214

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the potential association of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene and childhood aggression by testing the 5-HTT variable-number-tandem-repeat and serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR), including the recently discovered Lg allelic variant of 5-HTTLPR. METHOD: Clinically referred children displaying extreme aggression, with a minimum 2-year history, were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR (N=77) and 5-HTT variable-number-tandem-repeat (N=78). Analyses compared genotype frequencies of the aggressive children with healthy comparison subjects. RESULTS: The "low expressing" genotypic variants of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism (S/S, Lg/S, Lg/Lg) were significantly associated with childhood aggression. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to report a significant association between the 5-HTTLPR gene and childhood aggression.

Language: en