Association between the dopamine D2 receptor TaqI A2 allele and low activity COMT allele with obsessive-compulsive disorder in males.

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence suggests the involvement of the dopamine system in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

METHOD: The relationship of the dopamine D(2) receptor (DRD2) TaqI A, and catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) NlaIII High/Low activity polymorphism to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was examined in a sample of 150 patients and 150 controls.

RESULTS: OCD patients did not show significant differences in genotype distribution and allele frequency for polymorphisms investigated relative to controls. However, when the sample was stratified by gender, there was a trend to a significant predominance of the DRD2 A2A2 genotype (p=0.049), and a higher frequency of the DRD2 A2 allele (p=0.020) and low-activity COMT allele (p=0.035) in male OCD patients compared to male controls. In addition, we observed an association of the DRD2 A2A2 genotype in patients with an early onset of disease (<or=15 years) (p=0.033).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings replicate previous reports and provide support for a potential role of the COMT and DRD2 locus in subgroup of male, early onset patients with OCD.