Longitudinal interplays of estrogen receptor alpha gene rs9340799 with social ‐environmental factors on post‐traumatic stress disorder in Chinese Han adolescents after Wenchuan earthquake

Indirect evidences suggested associations of estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the relationship between rs9340799 on ESR1 gene and PTSD has not been reported yet. The present study was to explore the longitudinal changes of prevalence and severity of PTSD in adolescents with different genotypes of rs9340799 after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Social‐environmental factors were collected by questionnaires in 465 high school students. Variants of rs9340799 were determined by polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses and verified by DNA sequencing. PTSD symptoms were assessed by PTSD Checklist‐Civilian Version (PCL‐C) at 6, 12, and 18 months after the earthquake. The female AA homozygotes had a trend of higher prevalence of PTSD and significantly higher PCL‐C scores than the female G allele carriers at 6 months after the earthquake. The female students had higher prevalence of PTSD and higher PCL‐C scores than the male subjects at 6 months in the AA homozygotes, but not in the G allele carriers. Consecutive decreases in PCL‐C scores were observed only in the female AA homozygotes. Only in the female, the AA genotype was the risk factor and predictor of PCL‐C scores at 6 months. Potential factors of PTSD prevalence and predictors of PCL‐C scores were different between the AA homozygotes and G allele carriers at different time during the follow‐up. These results suggest gene‐...
Source: American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research