Young Susan E, Smolen Andrew, Hewitt John K, Haberstick Brett C, Stallings Michael C, Corley Robin P, Crowley Thomas J
Institute for Behavioral Genetics, UCB 447, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Jun;163(6):1019-25. doi: 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.6.1019.
Childhood maltreatment is a potent risk factor for subsequent aggressive and criminal behavior. A recent study suggested that the relationship between maltreatment and antisocial behavior may be moderated by a genetic vulnerability conferred by a functional polymorphism in the MAO-A gene. The authors investigated whether these findings would generalize to a clinical cohort of adolescents, examining whether there was a stronger association between maltreatment and conduct disorder severity in patients carrying the low MAO-A activity allele.
Male adolescent patients (N=247) entering residential or intensive day treatment for persistent conduct and substance use problems were examined. Conduct disorder severity was indexed by a lifetime count of DSM-IV criteria obtained through structured psychiatric interviews. Maltreatment scores were derived from summing neglect and abuse events reported to have occurred before age 11.
Neglect, verbal/psychological abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse were prevalent among patients. Although level of maltreatment and lifetime conduct disorder symptoms were significantly correlated, no genetic-environmental interaction with genotype for maltreatment was found.
The results of the current study do not support the hypothesis that a polymorphism in the gene encoding MAO-A contributes to the genetic risk for conduct disorder.
童年期受虐是日后出现攻击性行为和犯罪行为的一个重要风险因素。最近一项研究表明，受虐与反社会行为之间的关系可能会受到单胺氧化酶A（MAO-A）基因功能性多态性所赋予的遗传易感性的调节。作者调查了这些发现是否适用于青少年临床队列，研究携带低MAO-A活性等位基因的患者中，受虐与品行障碍严重程度之间是否存在更强的关联。
对因持续性品行和物质使用问题而进入寄宿或强化日间治疗的男性青少年患者（N = 247）进行检查。品行障碍严重程度通过结构化精神科访谈获得的DSM-IV标准终生计数来衡量。受虐得分来自于对报告在11岁之前发生的忽视和虐待事件的汇总。
忽视、言语/心理虐待、身体虐待和性虐待在患者中很普遍。虽然受虐程度与终生品行障碍症状显著相关，但未发现受虐与基因型之间存在基因-环境相互作用。
本研究结果不支持编码MAO-A的基因多态性导致品行障碍遗传风险的假设。
