Gene, birth weight linked to antisocial behavior
Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 16:11 CST
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The presence of a specific gene mutation and low birth weight appear to increase the risk of early-onset antisocial behavior in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Dr. Anita Thapar and colleagues from Cardiff University, Wales, examined whether a variation in two amino acids associated with the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene predicts antisocial behavior in a high-risk group of children. The researchers also assessed the influence of birth weight.
The researchers conducted a family-based genetic study from 1997 to 2003. Included were 240 children recruited from child and adolescent psychiatric and child health clinics who were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or hyperkinetic disorder.
The subjects underwent comprehensive standardized assessments, which included measures of antisocial behavior and IQ. They also underwent testing for variations in two animo acids -- methionine or valine -- in the COMT gene.
The results of indicate that children who had a COMT gene mutation or low birth weight were significantly more likely to have antisocial behavior.
The average conduct disorder scores were higher in children with the gene mutation and those with birthweights lower than 2500 g. The association was independent of the effects of age, sex, verbal IQ, and performance IQ.
"The results of this study have potentially important implications insofar as they suggest that among those with ADHD who are at high risk of early-onset antisocial behavior," the presence of a specific COMT gene mutation not only predicts antisocial behavior, but also makes these children more susceptible to the adverse effects associated with low birth weight, Thapar's team concludes.
SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, November 2005.
Source: REUTERS
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