Children under stress - COMT genotype and stressful life events predict cortisol increase in an acute social stress paradigm

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

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Abstract

Dopamine and norepinephrine are key regulators of cognitive and affective processes. The enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) catabolizes catecholamines and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism has been linked to several neuropsychiatric variables. Additionally, stressful life events (SLEs) contribute substantially to affective processes. We used the stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to investigate the effects of COMT and SLEs on the cortisol response in 119 healthy children (8-12 yr). Saliva cortisol was measured during and after the Trier Social Stress Test for Children. SLEs were assessed with a standardized interview with one of the children's parents. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant effect for COMT, with Met allele carriers showing a higher cortisol response (β=0.300, p=0.001). In turn, more SLEs lead to a less pronounced cortisol increase (β=-0.192, p=0.029) probably indicating increased resilience. Our results further underscore the essential and differential role of genetic variation and environmental factors on stress responsivity.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1229-1239
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
Volume15
Issue number9
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2012
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 84871101503
ORCID /0000-0002-9426-5397/work/141543189

Keywords

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Keywords

  • Alleles, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/genetics, Catechol O-Methyltransferase/genetics, Child, DNA/genetics, Female, Gene Frequency, Genetic Variation, Genotype, Humans, Hydrocortisone/metabolism, Life Change Events, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Regression Analysis, Reproducibility of Results, Saliva/chemistry, Social Environment, Stress, Psychological/genetics

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