COMT Associations with Disordered Gambling and Drinking Measures.

Disordered gambling and alcohol dependence are influenced by unique and shared genetic factors. Although the evidence is mixed, some research has linked catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) rs4680 (or COMT Val158Met) to the development of gambling or drinking problems; however, no molecular genetic study has jointly examined gambling and drinking problems. Furthermore, the majority of past studies examined gambling or drinking problems using a case-control design. The purpose of the current study was to examine associations of COMT rs4680 with dimensionally and categorically measured gambling and drinking problems in a nonclinical sample (139 Caucasian adults). The current study found that COMT rs4680 was related to both dimensionally and categorically measured gambling and drinking problems. It appears that the COMT Met/Met genotype may be a genetic risk factor that contributes to the development of both gambling and drinking problems.