The 5‐HT2A receptor gene 102T/C polymorphism is associated with suicidal behavior in depressed patients

Several lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors constitute an important determinant of suicidal behavior. A significant association between the 5‐HT_2A‐C allele and suicidality has recently been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the proposed association between 5‐HT_2A‐102T/C polymorphism and suicidality could be replicated in a larger and independent sample of Spanish patients with major depression. The 102T/C polymorphism of the 5‐HT_2A receptor gene was analyzed in 159 patients with major depression (DSM‐IV criteria) and 164 unrelated and healthy controls using a case control design. All individuals were subjects of Spanish origin. Significant differences in allele (chi‐square = 4.13, df = 1, P = 0.04) and genotype (chi‐square = 6.19, df = 2, P = 0.04) distributions were found between non–suicide attempters and suicide attempters. Moreover, those patients carrying 5‐HT_2A‐C allele had more than five times the risk for attempting suicide than noncarriers (OR = 5.50, 95% CI = 1.18–35.20, P = 0.01). Our results replicate the proposed association between 5HT_2A‐C allele and suicidality in major depression. Moreover, no overall associations are detected when patients with major depression and controls are compared for 102T/C frequencies, suggesting that the increased risk for suicidality conferred by 5‐HT_2A‐C allele is primarily associated with suicidal behavior and not with the diagnosis of major depression itself. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.