Genetic Variations in Tryptophan Hydroxylase in Suicidal Behavior: Analysis and Meta-Analysis

The authors performed a meta-analysis on a total of 898 patients & 1179 controls, in addition to a local association study in 147 consecutively recruited suicide attempters & 326 healthy control subjects. They observed a nonsignificant higher frequency of the tryptophan hydroxylase intron 7 A218 allele in their local group. The meta-analysis showed a weak yet highly significant increase in the frequency of the A218 allele & an over-representation of A-carriers in Caucasian suicide attempters/victims. Implications are discussed. (47 refs)