5HTTLPR Polymorphism in Schizophrenic Patients: Further Support for Association With Violent Suicide Attempts

The authors genotyped the 5HTTLPR ploymorphism in 185 unrelated patients with schizophrenia from a French Caucasian population. The genotype frequencies significantly differed between patients who made violent suicide attempts & both those who attempted suicide with a nonviolent method & those who never attempted suicide. The genotypes containing the low activity “short” allele were significantly more frequent in violent suicide attempters than in nonviolent suicide attempters. No evidence was found for an association either with schizophrenia itself, when compared to gender & ethnically matched controls, or with impulsivity. Replication studies are warranted. (47 refs.)