Background:
The polymorphism COMTval158met has been associated with suicidal behavior in case-control and meta-analysis studies, but results and conclusions remain controversial. The objective of this study was to examine the association between COMT val158met with suicidal behavior in a case-control study and to assess the combined evidence -this case-control study and available data from other relates studies- we carried out a meta-analysis.
Methods:
We conducted a case-control study with 105 patients with suicide attempts and 236 controls. Subsequently, we performed a meta-analysis of published genetic association studies by searching through Medline, PubMed and Web of Science databases.
Results:
No significant differences were found in the distribution of alleles (chi2=0.33, 1 df, p=0.56) or genotypes (chi2=2.36, 2 df, p=0.26). The meta-analysis comprising 12 association studies (including the present one) showed that the risk allele COMTmet of COMTval158/met is not associated with suicidal behavior (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.97-1.23), even in the absence of heterogeneity (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.97-1.23).
Conclusion:
Our results showed no association between COMTval158/met and suicidal behavior. However, more studies are necessary to determine an association between COMT and suicidal behavior.