Investigation of the relationship between monoamine oxidase A enzyme gene polymorphism and the development of conduct disorder in sexually abused cases

Objective: Our aim in this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) gene polymorphisms in sexually abused cases with or without conduct disorder (CD). Methods: Cases were recruited from sexually abused girls (n=52) aged between 13 and 18 who admitted to child psychiatry outpatient clinic. Psychiatric diagnoses were performed by using Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version according to DSM-IV by child psychiatrist. Blood samples were taken from participants and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1799835, rs1137070 and rs2072743) were analyzed to detect MAO-A gene polymorphism at Department of Medical Genetics. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between groups with or without CD in terms of rs1799835, rs1137070 and rs2072743 SNPs. Besides, no difference was detected between alleles, genotype frequencies of SNPs and three determined haplotypes in groups with (n=10) or without (n=42) CD in the whole sample. Conclusion: MAO-A gene polymorphism role in the development of CD did not differ between the groups with or without CD in sexually abused cases. It is known that there are a number of factors that play a role of development of CD rather than a diversification of a single gene. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2017; 18(6.000): 536-542]