Meta‐analysis of the association between the catecholamine‐O‐methyl‐transferase gene and obsessive‐compulsive disorder
- 21 October 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in American Journal Of Medical Genetics Part B-Neuropsychiatric Genetics
- Vol. 123B (1), 64-69
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.20013
Abstract
Obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic, severely debilitating mental illness that affects approximately 1–2% of the population. Data from twin and family studies have shown that genetic factors contribute to the expression of the disease. The dopaminergic system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of OCD, and catecholamine‐O‐methyl‐transferase (COMT) is a key modulator of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission. The gene for COMT has a common polymorphism that has been shown to be correlated with a three‐ to fourfold change in enzymatic activity. Several groups have searched for an association between the COMT gene polymorphism and the presence or absence of OCD, with contrasting results. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of both the published literature and unpublished data. Available data were stratified according to the original study design as either case‐control or family‐based, and two separate meta‐analyses were conducted, using both fixed‐effects and random‐effects models. These analyses showed insufficient evidence to support an association between the COMT gene polymorphism and OCD. Subgroup stratification based on gender generated no statistically significant associations. These results should be considered in any future work correlating the COMT gene with OCD.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Adults With Early-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2001
- Association between a catechol-o-methyltransferase polymorphism and obsessive–compulsive disorder in the Afrikaner populationJournal of Affective Disorders, 2001
- Pharmacological Options for the Treatment of Tourette??s DisorderDrugs, 2001
- Serotonin and Dopamine Antagonism in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Effect of Atypical Antipsychotic DrugsPharmacopsychiatry, 2000
- Patterns of Remission and Relapse in Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderThe Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1999
- A 40-Year Follow-up of Patients With Obsessive-compulsive DisorderArchives of General Psychiatry, 1999
- Transmission Disequilibrium, Family Controls, and Great ExpectationsAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 1998
- No association between anxiety disorders and catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphismPsychiatry Research, 1998
- Fluvoxamine/Pimozide Treatment of Concurrent Tourette's and Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderThe British Journal of Psychiatry, 1990
- Evidence for a Biological Hypothesis of Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderNeuropsychobiology, 1984