Abstract
Previous studies have indicated associations between a functional biallelic repetitive element in the 5β² regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene (5βHTTLPR) and alcoholic subjects who have either dissocial personality disorder or severe withdrawal symptoms. To replicate these associations under the hypothesis that genetic polymorphism plays some role in the susceptibility or vulnerability of some subgroup of alcoholics, the associations between alcoholic subjects' genetic polymorphisms, clinical characteristics, and personality traits were examined. This case control study comprised 697 alcoholic and 270 control subjects. A questionnaire focusing on family and social background, history of drinking and alcohol withdrawal, DSMβIIIβR criteria for the evaluation of psychiatric conditions, and Feighner's criteria for the lifetime diagnosis and assessment of overall severity of alcoholism was administered to 373 alcoholic subjects. Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) were used to evaluate the other 324 alcoholics. The frequency of the homozygous short allele was significantly higher in alcoholic binge drinkers than in nonbinge drinking alcoholics. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of either the 5βHTTLPR genotype or the short vs. long allele in alcoholic and control subjects. The alcoholics' 5βHTTLPR genotype and allele frequencies did not differ significantly by the severity of withdrawal symptoms or by the number of positive Feighner's diagnostic criteria. Although these results indicate an association between 5βHTTLPR and a subgroup of alcoholics characterized by binge drinking, the authors found no differences in SSS and TCI subscale scores for alcoholics with different 5βHTTLPR genotypes. Future studies of the association in other alcoholic population should take into account personality traits. Β© 2001 WileyβLiss, Inc.