Attempted suicide and polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene in Chinese patients with schizophrenia

Abnormalities of serotonin synthesis and metabolism may be associated with suicidality. The serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) is one of the important genes involved in the regulation of serotonin neurotransmission. We examined the association of suicidal behavior in Chinese schizophrenic patients with a functional polymorphism of the promoter region of the 5-HTT gene (5-HTTLPR). The 5-HTTLPR genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction for 76 suicidal and 262 non-suicidal patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM-IV criteria). All subjects were unrelated to each other, and all were Chinese. There was no significant genotypic or allelic association of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism with history of attempted suicide. From our results, this 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is unlikely to have a major effect on suicidal behavior in Chinese patients with schizophrenia. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.