Lack of association between the 5-HTTLPR and positive screening for mental disorders among children exposed to urban violence and maltreatment

• Autor(a) principal: Cividanes,Giuliana C.
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Mello,Andrea F., Sallum,Juliana M., Fossaluza,Victor, Medeiros,Marcio de, Maciel,Mariana R., Cavalcante-Nobrega,Luciana P., Mari,Jair J., Mello,Marcelo F., Valentte,Nina L.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (São Paulo. 1999. Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-44462014000500277
• topic: Serotonin transporter polymorphism; child maltreatment; child labor; street children

Objective: To ascertain whether genetic variations in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR 44-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism) influence an increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents exposed to high levels of violence. Methods: Saliva samples were collected from a group of children who were working on the streets and from their siblings who did not work on the streets. DNA was extracted from the saliva samples and analyzed for 5-HTTLPR polymorphism genotypes. Results: One hundred and seventy-seven children between the ages of 7 and 14 years were analyzed (114 child workers and 63 siblings). Data on socioeconomic conditions, mental symptoms, and presence and severity of maltreatment and urban violence were collected using a sociodemographic inventory and clinical instruments. There was no positive correlation between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and presence of mental symptoms in our sample, although the children were exposed to high levels of abuse, neglect, and urban violence. Conclusions: Despite previous studies that associated adult psychiatric disorders with the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and a history of childhood maltreatment, no such association was found in this sample of children at risk.