Association between Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism and Smoking among Japanese Males

The serotoninergic system may be involved in smoking behavior because nicotine increases brain serotonin secretion, nicotine withdrawal decreases serotonin levels, and a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antagonizes the response to nicotine. Compared with the L allele, the S allele of the polym...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention biomarkers & prevention, 1999-09, Vol.8 (9), p.831-833
Main Authors: ISHIKAWA, H, OHTSUKI, T, ARINAMI, T, ISHIGURO, H, YAMAKAWA-KOBAYASHI, K, ENDO, K, LIN, Y.-L, YANAGI, H, TSUCHIYA, S, KAWATA, K.-I, HAMAGUCHI, H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Alleles
Asian Continental Ancestry Group - genetics
Biological and medical sciences
Carrier Proteins - genetics
Gene Frequency
Genotype
Humans
Japan - epidemiology
Male
Medical sciences
Membrane Glycoproteins - genetics
Membrane Transport Proteins
Middle Aged
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Polymorphism, Genetic
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Serotonin - genetics
Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
Smoking - epidemiology
Smoking - genetics
Tobacco smoking
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Summary:The serotoninergic system may be involved in smoking behavior because nicotine increases brain serotonin secretion, nicotine withdrawal decreases serotonin levels, and a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antagonizes the response to nicotine. Compared with the L allele, the S allele of the polymorphism in the upstream regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene is associated with decreased transcription efficiency of the 5-HTT gene promoter. We examined this polymorphism in a Japanese population consisting of 387 males from two different areas in Japan. The L allele was observed significantly more often in smokers (21%) than in nonsmokers (lifetime nonsmokers + ex-smokers, 14%; P = 0.005). The presence of the L allele (the L/L + L/S genotypes) was also significantly increased in smokers (37%) compared with that in nonsmokers (24%; P = 0.003). The present study suggests that individuals with the S/S genotype are less inclined to smoke and/or can more easily stop smoking than others, supporting a role of the serotoninergic system in smoking behavior.
ISSN:1055-9965
1538-7755