Study Report
Study Information
Basic Info
| Reference |
Kolassa, I. T.,2010 PMID: 20441718
|
| Citation |
Kolassa, I. T., et al. (2010). "Association study of trauma load and SLC6A4 promoter polymorphism in posttraumatic stress disorder: evidence from survivors of the Rwandan genocide." J Clin Psychiatry 71(5): 543-547. |
| Phenotype |
Lifetime PTSD |
| Trauma |
Rwandan Civil War |
| Study Design |
Case-control |
| Study Type |
Candidate gene association study, Gene-environment interaction study |
| Sample Size |
408 refugees |
| SNP/Marker Size |
1 Variant |
| Predominant Ethnicity |
Black |
| Population |
Rwanda,Uganda |
| Gender |
218 male, 190 female |
| Age |
Mean age=34.68 years, SD=5.87. Age range from 17 to 68 years. |
Detail Info
| Sample Diagnosis |
DSM-IV |
| Related Diagnostic Tools |
All subjects were examined by trained experts using a structured interview based on Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale. Traumatic events were assessed with a checklist of 36 war- and non-war-related traumatic event type. |
| Sample Status |
All subjects from the Rwandan Civil War who were living in the Nakivale refugee camp in southwestern Uganda from March 2006 to February 2007. |
| Controls Exposed |
Yes |
| Replication Size |
None |
| Result Summary |
RESULTS: The prevalence of PTSD approached 100% when traumatic exposure reached extreme levels. However, persons homozygous for the short allele of the SLC6A4 promoter polymorphism showed no dose-response relationship but were at high risk for developing PTSD after very few traumatic events. This genotype influence vanished with increasing exposure to traumatic stressors. CONCLUSION: We find evidence for a gene-environment interplay for PTSD and show that genetic influences lose importance when environmental factors cause an extremely high trauma burden to an individual. In the future, it may be important to determine whether the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions in PTSD is also modulated by the SLC6A4 genotype. |
| Potential Biomarker |
None |
Genetic result reported by this study
