COMT Val(158)Met genotype and cannabis use in people with an At Risk Mental State for psychosis: Exploring Gene x Environment interactions.
BACKGROUND
Epidemiological and retrospective studies suggest a cannabis x catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val(158)Met interaction effect on development of psychosis. The aim of this study was to examine this interaction and its association with severity of subclinical symptoms in people with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS) for psychosis.


METHODS
Severity of symptoms, cannabis use and genotype were assessed at baseline in 147 help-seeking young adults who met the ARMS criteria and agreed to participate in the Dutch Early Detection and Intervention (EDIE-NL) trial.


RESULTS
Cannabis use and COMT Val-allele showed an interaction effect in ARMS subjects. Subjects who were weekly cannabis users at some point prior to entering the study showed more severe positive symptoms. This effect increased if they were carriers of the COMT Val-allele and even more so if they were homozygous for the Val-allele.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism moderates the effect of regular cannabis use on severity of subclinical psychotic symptoms.
['Nieman|Dorien H|DH|', 'Dragt|Sara|S|', 'van Duin|Esther D A|EDA|', 'Denneman|Nadine|N|', 'Overbeek|Jozefien M|JM|', 'de Haan|Lieuwe|L|', 'Rietdijk|Judith|J|', 'Ising|Helga K|HK|', 'Klaassen|Rianne M C|RMC|', 'van Amelsvoort|Thérèse|T|', 'Wunderink|Lex|L|', 'van der Gaag|Mark|M|', 'Linszen|Don H|DH|']
D002188:Cannabis D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase D005260:Female D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease D005838:Genotype D060005:Genotyping Techniques D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008385:Marijuana Smoking D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D011618:Psychotic Disorders D012720:Severity of Illness Index D055815:Young Adult
COMT Val(158)Met Cannabis At Risk Mental State Psychosis GxE interaction