The association of catechol-O-methyltransferase genotype with the phenotype of women with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The modern brain imaging studies in patients with eating disorders have shown that neurotransmitting regulation differs distinctly from control groups. These disturbances have involved serotonin and dopamine system can be inherited and conditioned by genes. The aim of this work has been the analysis of association between eating disorders of anorexia or bulimia type and two polymorphisms of COMT gene. The additional goal has been the analysis of correlation among chosen personality and psychological features of ED women with the research gene variations.

METHODS: The group taken as research sample consisted of adult 103 women (mean age=22.45+/-3.8 years) suffered from serious ED with illness lasting minimum 12 months. According to ICD-10 criteria, 61 women were diagnosed as anorexia nervosa while as 42 bulimia nervosa. The control group consisted of 108 ethnically and age-matched women with excluded major psychiatric disorders. The study groups were filling up the Eating Disorders Inventory and the Temperament and Character Inventory. The genotype of catechol-O-methyltransferase in two polymorphisms rs4633 (his102his) and rs4680 (val158met) was determined.

RESULTS: The joined GGCT genotype increased the risk of having ED over fivefold and over sevenfold the risk of having bulimia. Also haplotype CT was found three times more often in ED women than in controls. Besides the homozygous genotypes, AACC and GGCC reduced substantially the relative risk of ED. The patients with the low activity COMT genotype scored higher in EDI scales ineffectiveness, drive for thinness and perfectionism. The high activity genotype was connected with underdeveloped features of character marked in the poor cooperativeness and the poor self-directedness. These connections among genotypes and character scales were more expressed in bulimia group.