Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Spain.
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2011 Jun;123(6):485-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01665.x. Epub 2011 Jan 14.
To examine, in a sample of young psychiatric patients, (n = 157, mean age 17.01 years (SD = 3.6)) whether i) age at first cannabis use and age at emergence of psychiatric disorders are related and ii) such a relationship is modulated by the Val158Met polymorphism in the COMT gene.
Cannabis use profiles and COMT Val158Met genotypes were obtained from 80 inpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and 77 inpatients with other non-psychotic disorders.
First, age at first cannabis use correlates with age at onset in both schizophrenia-spectrum and other psychiatric disorder groups: those who started using cannabis earlier had an earlier age at onset of psychiatric disorders. Second, the distribution of the Val158Met genotypes was not different either between diagnosis groups or between cannabis users and non-users. Third, an interaction between Val158Met genotypes and cannabis use was observed specifically on age at emergence of psychotic disorders, with Val/Val genotype carriers showing an earlier age at onset than Met carriers.
Our results suggest the importance of brain maturation timing in which exposure to cannabis occurs. The COMT Val158Met genotype seems to modulate the association between cannabis and age at onset of psychotic disorders. These results are consistent with previous studies.
在年轻精神科患者样本中（n=157，平均年龄 17.01 岁[标准差=3.6]），考察以下内容：i）首次使用大麻的年龄和精神障碍出现的年龄是否相关；ii）这种关系是否受 COMT 基因 Val158Met 多态性的调节。
从 80 名精神分裂症谱系障碍住院患者和 77 名其他非精神病住院患者中获得大麻使用情况和 COMT Val158Met 基因型。
首先，首次使用大麻的年龄与精神分裂症谱系和其他精神障碍组的发病年龄相关：那些更早开始使用大麻的人，其精神障碍发病年龄更早。其次，Val158Met 基因型的分布在诊断组之间或大麻使用者和非使用者之间没有差异。第三，仅在出现精神病性障碍的年龄上观察到 Val158Met 基因型与大麻使用之间的相互作用，Val/Val 基因型携带者的发病年龄早于 Met 携带者。
我们的结果表明了大脑成熟时间在大麻暴露中的重要性。COMT Val158Met 基因型似乎调节了大麻与精神病性障碍发病年龄之间的关联。这些结果与之前的研究一致。
