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Association between violent suicidal behavior and the low activity allele of the serotonin transporter gene

Molecular Psychiatry volume 6, pages 338–341 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

There is compelling evidence that serotonin system dysfunction is associated with certain behavioral disorders, such as suicidal behavior and impulsive aggression. A functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) was recently identified and the presence of the short allele found to be associated with a lower level of expression of the gene, lower levels of 5-HT uptake, suicidal behavior and anxiety-related traits. We genotyped 51 West European Caucasians who had made violent suicide attempts and 139 controls of the same ethnic origin, with no history of suicidal behavior. The frequencies of the S allele and the SS genotype were significantly higher in the violent suicide attempters than in the controls. The odds ratio for the SS genotype vs the LL genotype was 3.63 (95% CI (1.27–10.40)). This suggests that a change in expression of the gene encoding the 5-HT transporter may be involved in violent suicidal behavior.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grant 32-47315.96 and grant 31-53849.98 from the Swiss National Foundation to Dr A Malafosse, and grants from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, France (Réseau INSERM No. 4M305D), and from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale to Dr P Courtet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, Lapeyronie Hospital, INSERM E99-30, Montpellier, France

    P Courtet & D Castelnau

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland

    P Baud, D Mouthon, A Malafosse & C Buresi

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Carémeau Hospital, Nîmes, France

    M Abbar

  4. University Department of Psychiatry, La Colombière Hospital, INSERM E99–30, Montpellier, France

    J P Boulenger

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  1. P Courtet
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  2. P Baud
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  3. M Abbar
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  4. J P Boulenger
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  5. D Castelnau
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  6. D Mouthon
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  7. A Malafosse
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  8. C Buresi
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Correspondence to P Courtet.

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Courtet, P., Baud, P., Abbar, M. et al. Association between violent suicidal behavior and the low activity allele of the serotonin transporter gene. Mol Psychiatry 6, 338–341 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000856

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000856

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