Interactive effect of BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism and childhood maltreatment on cognitive functioning in Chinese male patients with methamphetamine use disorder.

BACKGROUND

Patients with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) are known to experience cognitive dysfunction. Our previous study was the first to demonstrate the negative impact of childhood maltreatment (CM) on cognitive function in MUD patients. Extensive research has highlighted the crucial role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphisms in cognitive function. However, whether genetic variations in BDNF interact with environmental factors such as CM to influence cognition remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential interaction between BDNF gene polymorphism and CM in affecting cognitive function among MUD patients.

METHODS

We recruited 558 MUD patients and 459 healthy controls, assessed cognitive function using the Repeated Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and CM using the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) in all participants, and genotyped all patients and 158 healthy controls for the BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism.

RESULTS

CM negatively affected cognitive performance in both MUD patients and healthy controls, especially in visuospatial/constructional abilities (HC: FDR p < 0.001), attention (HC: FDR p = 0.008; MUD: FDR p < 0.001), and RBANS total score (HC: FDR p < 0.001; MUD: FDR p = 0.006). Furthermore, a significant interaction between CM and the BDNF rs10835210 polymorphism on attention (FDR p = 0.006) was observed in MUD patients, but not in healthy controls. Post hoc analyses revealed that among carriers of the BDNF rs10835210 A allele, MUD patients with CM had lower RBANS attention scores (FDR p < 0.001) than those without CM. In contrast, no significant simple main effect of CM on RBANS attention was found among MUD patients carrying BDNF rs10835210 CC genotype.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that CM impairs multiple aspects of cognitive function in MUD patients. Moreover, the BDNF gene rs10835210 polymorphism mediates the effect of CM on cognitive function in this population.