- The aim of the study was to test the correlation between 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and dental anxiety. Research hypothesis was that positive relation between the expression of dental anxiety and the S ...allele exists in the population of healthy Caucasians. We conducted a prospective study on 159 subjects, volunteers made up of medical and non-medical staff of the Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Centre. Both genders were included, age range 19 to 59, mentally and physically healthy (according to DSM-5 classification of mental disorders). For the purpose of this research, we used a sociodemographic questionnaire containing the following information: age, gender, education level, work status, marital status and residence. Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale-Revised (DAS-R) was used to measure dental anxiety. Data distribution was tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, difference between the groups by ?χ
-test and one-way analysis of variance, and correlation of variables by logistic regression. In the study population, we found positive correlation between S-allele and total result in DAS-R questionnaire. The presence of S allele suggests that the person will have a higher result in DAS-R questionnaire, i.e. higher expression of dental anxiety.
Abstract
Background
Dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission relies mostly on the action of four factors: serotonin and dopamine transporters (SERT and DAT) and enzymes monoaminooxidase A (MAO-A) and ...catechol-O-mehtyltransferase (COMT). The goal of this research was to closely examine schizophrenia symptom domains in relation to the investigated polymorphisms.
Methods
Study group was composed of 300 schizophrenic patients. Severity of schizophrenia was assessed by the Positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), depressive symptoms were assessed with Calgary depression scale for schizophrenia (CDSS). SERT (5-HTTLPR), DAT (VNTR), COMT (Val158Met) and MAO-A (VNTR) gene polymorphisms were analyzed. Schizophrenia symptom dimensions were determined with multivariate statistical methods, while logistic regression and ANOVA were used to investigate the influence of a genotype on a symptom domain.
Results
Factor analysis of PANSS scale retained all 30 items and identified 5 separate factors (aggressive/impulsive, affective/depressive, cognitive, negative and positive symptoms). Analysis of CDSS scale revealed 2 separate factors (depression and suicidality).
Statistically significant PANSS variables were those of aggressive/impulsive and negative symptoms, while suicidality was the only significant CDSS variable.
Discussion
Our PANSS scale factor analysis established 5 distinct factors. Previous factor analyses provided from 3, up to 7 different factors, but mostly 5 distinct ones: negative symptoms, positive symptoms, depressive symptoms, excitement and disorganization. That factor distribution corresponds to our findings in terms of identified number of factors, but seems to differ in terms of item distribution within those factors.
When testing the influence of investigated gene polymorphisms on the variable of total PANSS score and five distinct factors we did not establish significant findings regarding four variables: total PANSS score, positive, cognitive and affective/depressive symptoms. While that is in line with majority of other investigations, SERT promoter polymorphism and COMT Val158Met gene polymorphism have been previously associated with depressive and positive symptoms. SERT and MAO-A polymorphisms separately had a significant effect on the variable of aggressive/impulsive symptoms, which has not been reported earlier. Furthermore, significant influence of COMT gene polymorphism was established for the variable of negative symptoms, which is a confirmation of some earlier reports, although there have been contrary findings.
Previous reports of CDSS scale factor structure are limited to data from its initial validation to the few recent findings of its three-factor structure (depression, cognition and melancholy). We identified 2 separate factors using factor analysis, “depression” (which included seven out of nine items) and “suicidality”. To the best of our knowledge this is the first investigation of the putative association between any of the four investigated polymorphisms and depressive symptoms of schizophrenia measured by the CDSS scale. Ultimately, we did not establish a significant association of investigated gene polymorphisms and total CDSS score, as well as the “depression” factor. However, there was a significant association between the “suicidality” factor and SERT and MAO-A gene polymorphisms, as well as their interaction. The fact that the significant association was established for only one of the two obtained CDSS factors suggests that the association is subtle and, at least partially, explains rarely reported associations between investigated gene polymorphisms and schizophrenia symptom domains, which is especially true for depressive symptomatology.
The objective of the present study was to assess differences in prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among depressed patients in regard to the duration of the illness (first episode versus recurrent ...episodes). A total of 190 patients suffering from major depressive disorder were included in the study, diagnosed according to International classification of disorders, 10th revision. The same criteria were used to divide participants into two groups: first episode major depressive disorder and major depressive disorder with recurrent episodes. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the American National Cholesterol Education Program-Treatment Panel III. Results showed that metabolic syndrome is significantly more prevalent in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (45.2%) compared to patients with first episode of major depressive disorder (27.3%), mainly due to differences in plasma glucose, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol levels. These findings indicate the importance of the duration of depression and the number of recurring episodes as factors involved in etiopathogenesis of the associated metabolic syndrome.
Cilj studije bio je ispitati povezanost polimorfizma 5-HTTLPR i dentalne anksioznosti. Naša hipoteza pretpostavlja pozitivnu povezanost izraženosti dentalne anksioznosti s S alelom u populaciji ...zdravih bijelaca. Provedena je prospektivna studija na 159 ispitanika, dobrovoljaca koje je sačinjavalo medicinsko i nemedicinsko osoblje KBC-a “Sestre milosrdnice”. U istraživanje su uključeni ispitanici obaju spolova, dobnog raspona od 19 do 59 godina, tjelesno i psihički zdravi (bez poremećaja prema klasifikaciji DSM-5). U istraživanju smo rabili sociodemografski upitnik sa sljedećim podacima: dob, spol, stupanj naobrazbe, radni status, bračno stanje, mjesto stanovanja. U svrhu mjerenja dentalne anksioznosti primijenjen je Corahov upitnik o dentalnoj anksioznosti (Corah Dental Anxiety Scale-Revised, DAS-R). Raspodjela podataka testirana je Kolmogorov-Smirnovljevim testom. Za testiranje razlike među skupinama primijenjen je χ2-test i jednosmjerna analiza varijance. Za utvrđivanje povezanosti među varijablama primijenjena je logistička regresija. U ispitivanoj populaciji našli smo pozitivnu povezanost S alela i ukupnog rezultata na upitniku DAS-R. Prisutnost S alela ukazuje na to da će osoba imati veći rezultat na upitniku DAS-R, odnosno veću izraženost dentalne anksioznosti.
The objective of the present study was to assess differences in prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among depressed patients in regard to the duration of the illness (first episode versus recurrent ...episodes). A total of 190 patients suffering from major depressive disorder were included in the study, diagnosed according to International classification of disor- ders, 10th revision 1 . The same criteria were used to divide participants into two groups: first episode major depressive disorder and major depressive disorder with recurrent episodes. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the American National Cholesterol Education Program-Treatment Panel III 2 . Results showed that metabolic syndrome is significantly more prevalent in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (45.2%) compared to pa- tients with first episode of major depressive disorder (27.3%), mainly due to differences in plasma glucose, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol levels. These findings indicate the importance of the duration of depression and the number of re- curring episodes as factors involved in etiopathogenesis of the associated metabolic syndrome.